Uber partners with HDFC, Axis bank for UPI-based payment

Ride-hailing firm Uber has tied up with Axis and HDFC banks for UPI (Unified Payments Interface) based payments. With this, riders can use UPI as a payment option besides Paytm, credit/debit card and cash. Last month, Uber had integrated UPI (United Payments Interface) on its platform.

UPI is a payment system launched by NPCI which enables instant fund transfer between two bank accounts on the mobile platform.

UPI adoption by Uber on its platform is a major win for the payment interface, which is reportedly witnessing surge in its integration through apps such as Flipkart owned PhonePe and government promoted app-BHIM.

Currently, according to industry estimates, about 60 per cent of cab rides are paid in cash. UPI payments will help Uber’s drivers in making payments.

Among other global players, caller ID app Truecaller provides payments via UPI while Facebook’s WhatsApp is planning to add UPI payments support soon. Uber’s home-grown rival Ola had incorporated the same service in April.

While UPI could be leveraged well for drivers payment by Uber, using it for frequent trip payment by riders is not as smooth as Paytm. For every transaction on UPI app, there is a SMS authentication process, which can irritate users. Whereas in through Paytm, the number of authentication reduces as it is limited to only in initial stage.

Meanwhile, there is an advantage for users in compare to Paytm option, where user needs to have minimum balance limit of Rs 350. With UPI integration, users will be able to book a cab even without balance in account.

The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) witnessed a 12 per cent growth in the total transaction volumes taking place between June and July 2017, according to data provided by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). As per data, the amount transacted in July 2017 was double of what it was in January 2017.