Uber riders can now pay in rupees abroad, Paytm

The Dollar Business Bureau

Indian payment gateway company, Paytm will now enable Uber riders to pay in Indian currency for their rides while travelling in a foreign country, using their mobile wallet, by April-end.

Paytm, backed by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, will not levy any extra charge as conversion rate and the cab fares will be based on the prevailing foreign exchange rates.

At present, Uber users in India need to pay through credit card for their rides taken aboard.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO, Paytm said that the users, while travelling abroad, are now able to pay in Indian currency for their Uber rides. The process of integration is in the process and should be in place by this month-end.” “There are no hidden charges for currency conversion and the users will be charged on the basis of prevailing forex exchange rates,” he added.

The online transportation network company, Uber, has also done partnership with Alipay - online payment solution of Alibaba in China, to make its mobile wallet users to pay in Chinese currency (RMB), while travelling abroad.

Till date, Chinese riders using the Uber cab services globally were required to link to their account a double-currency credit card, and charged in US dollars for their rides. 

Uber’s Asia Pacific Head of Business, Eric Alexander said, “Integrating with Alipay will enable the Chinese users travelling overseas to book Uber cabs through the Alipay app. This will help those Uber users who do not have a credit card and now they can pay without any difficulty while travelling overseas.”

Alipay, which acquired a 25 percent stake in Paytm, has also extended a partnership to it.

Since the acquisition took place in February 2015, Alipay has been sharing its technology with the Indian counterpart and will extend the same strategy and product integration between Alipay, Paytm and Uber.

"It is expected that around 150 million people from China will travel abroad this year. Now with Alipay, the Chinese travelers can easily book cabs in 68 nations, where Uber is operating, through Alipay app. It is a big opportunity and will offer better experience for our global users," Eric Jing, President, Ant Financial Services said.