Uber and Easypaisa partner to introduce cashless payments

LAHORE: Uber, the global ride-hailing platform that seamlessly connects riders with drivers, with an aim to encourage digital financial inclusion in Pakistan, is introducing digital payments for its riders and partner drivers, in collaboration with Easypaisa, Pakistan’s leading digital payments platform.

Under this partnership, Uber riders and partner drivers will both be able to pay for their Uber rides and platform fees respectively, using Easypaisa. For this purpose, Uber is adding an in-app feature called ‘Uber Cash’ to the app, that will allow users to add funds to the Uber Cash balance, and use them to pay efficiently and safely for their rides. Riders will be able to top-up their balance with Easypaisa, and use it to pay for rides without the need of exchanging physical cash.

While currently, Uber offers the option of making payments via cash and Debit/Credit cards, this new facility of cashless transactions opens its gates to almost 10 million Easypaisa App users. Uber Cash not only minimizes the risk of fraudulent transactions, it also adds value to Uber’s global safety campaign, aimed to curb the risk of Covid-19 infections, by limiting unnecessary physical contact.

Shahid Khan, Country Head at Uber Pakistan, has stated, “At Uber, we are committed to our communities and continue to utilize our state-of-the-art technology to bring innovative features to our platform, and recognize the convenience that digital transactions offer for quick, safe, seamless, and hygienic payments. We are hopeful that this collaboration with Easypaisa would help remove hesitation barriers for online payments and enable a larger segment of the market to adopt digital financial service options in a digitally progressive era.”

Commenting on the partnership, M. Mudassar Aqil, CEO Easypaisa / Telenor Microfinance Bank said: “Pakistan is a digitally evolving economy. Through the power of collaboration and technology, various sectors have the potential to show exceptional development and partnerships are crucial in helping this initiative grow further. Easypaisa is playing its part in building an innovative, digital ecosystem where cash can be eliminated from the daily lifecycles of individuals and businesses alike. This relationship with Uber marks another milestone in our journey to provide convenient, secure and seamless digital financial services to all Pakistanis”.

This strategic initiative is aimed towards bringing digital financial inclusion across Uber’s business operations and drive digitization in Pakistan. Earlier this year, Uber also partnered up with Mastercard in a similar move, to provide its riders with free rides to and from vaccination centers.