Uber India this week announced its integration with Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the mobile payments technology developed by the government-sanctioned National Payments Corporation of India and two local banks, expanding mobile payments access to Uber riders and drivers.
The integration provides support from banking partners Axis Bank and HDFC Bank enabling riders to pay with UPI-based mobile banking apps and drivers to accept payments via their own banks’ UPI-based apps, according to a press release.
India is a key market for Uber, and India’s moves to promote a cashless society by promoting interoperable mobile payments technology—combined with its devaluation of most currency notes last fall—is helping to accelerate the ride-sharing service’s growth in the region, Uber said in the release. Uber has completed 500 million trips in India since its launch less than four years ago, Uber noted.
“We are proud to be a partner in the government’s monumental mission to create a digital payments-led society and thrilled to announce UPI integration, a significant collaborative step towards unlocking the potential of fintech innovations,” said David Richter, Uber’s senior vice president of global business, in the release.
