Uber has officially launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) integration in India. Uber has partnered with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and banking partners Axis Bank and HDFC Bank for UPI integration.
The online cab aggregator had already integrated the payment system last month but it it made this feature available to all users today only. The feature was rolling out in stages and now it is available for everyone. Uber users can see this feature by tapping on ‘Add Payment Method’ in the payment tab of the app.
Previously, Uber riders had an option to pay for a ride with cash, Paytm wallet, or debit/credit card. Interestingly, Uber’s closest rival in India Ola had already integrated UPI payments earlier in April.
How to set up UPI payments
In order to add UPI payment method, update your Uber app. Then, go to Payments tab in the menu option and tap on Add payment method. After that, select UPI and tap on Continue. Register for UPI as a payment option.
Enter your Mobile Number that is linked to your bank account and then select your bank from the displayed list. It will fetch the accounts linked with your mobile number.
Now, select the bank account and enter the last 6 digits and expiry date of your linked debit card. Finally, enter the OTP that the bank sends you and set up a UPI PIN and the payment method is safely saved on your app.
Uber sees India as an important market for itself after it home country, the US. Earlier this month, the company announced that it has completed 500 million trips in India.
David Richter, SVP-Global Business, Uber said,
”We are proud to be a partner in the government’s monumental mission to create a digital payment led society and thrilled to announce UPI integration, a significant collaborative step towards unlocking the potential of fintech innovations in accelerating the growth of the nation’s digital economy.”
Minister for electronics and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad who was also present at the launch said,
”India’s digital economy will become a $1trillion economy in the next five years. India’s digital payments economy alone will be bigger than $500 billion. Integration of Uber app with UPI-BHIM will boost the digital economy of India.”
Moreover, apart from Uber, several other global companies such as WhatsApp, Amazon, and Google are also planning to adopt UPI. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is a payment system that offers the facility of instant fund transfer between two bank accounts on the mobile platform.