Uber announces Unified Payments Interface integration to unlock the potential of fintech innovations in India

Digital Payments, AI and VR are to power the Indian economy in future and this is a strategic move by Uber to benefit by pushing government's Digital India initiative. It is also tied to its own initiative UberSHAAN - an effort is to rapidly scale India’s entrepreneurial base and generate 1 million livelihood opportunities on the Uber platform by 2018.

The Indian government estimates the digital economy to surpass $1.115tn by 2024-25, according to India's digital minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. At the launch, he said: "India’s digital economy will become a $1tn economy in the next five years. India’s digital payments economy alone will be bigger than $500bn. Integration of Uber app with UPI-BHIM will boost the digital economy of India.”

David Richter, SVP of global business at Uber, said: "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 accelerating the growth of the nation's digital economy.

"Uber, like several other tech companies in India and around the world, depends on consumers being able to frequently make low value payments with minimal friction. UPI integration will bring millions of riders and driver partners into the digital payments ecosystem, offering them another secure and seamless payment interface and bolster the nation’s digital payment revolution.”

Earlier, Uber India rolled out a national campaign 'Decongest India' in a bid to identify and curb causes of congestion.