[Vahanam]

Uber uses an international payment gateway to bypass the RBI mandate of 2 stage authentication. Taxi operators protested against but no avail. They are now going uber way.

The Association of Radio Taxis in India, which includes large operators such as Meru Cabs, Easy Cabs and Mega Cabs, plans to set up collection offices abroad to avail the advantage of single-level authentication

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/40382628.cms

How can RBI allow Uber to get away with this? With taxi operators setting up collection offices abroad, i guess some portion of the money goes away from india. Should not RBI make it uniform for all and prevent movement of money away?

[GTO]

Indeed, if you can't beat them, join them. The convenience that the Uber App offers is unbeatable. Step in, ride and walk away...no procedure to follow. The others have a severe competitive disadvantage.

That said, unless the RBI takes corrective measures, every taxi service and even e-commerce site is going to route payments internationally. Honestly, if you want to do business in India, there should be a law enforcing payments to be processed locally only. How can Uber run its business here and process payments outside the country?

[Harneet.S]

Here's this hour's news:


RBI makes it compulsory for Uber to follow two-step authentication for payments in India

[i10]

Originally Posted by GTO

Indeed, if you can't beat them, join them. The convenience that the Uber App offers is unbeatable. Step in, ride and walk away...no procedure to follow. The others have a severe competitive disadvantage.

That said, unless the RBI takes corrective measures, every taxi service and even e-commerce site is going to route payments internationally. Honestly, if you want to do business in India, there should be a law enforcing payments to be processed locally only. How can Uber run its business here and process payments outside the country?

And the RBI has already acted - it has asked merchants like Uber go use the 2 step authentication for card-less transactions (CNP)

[Vahanam]

Its heartening to see almost a level playing field now. Eagerly looking at how Uber is going to respond. Prepaid cards, Paypal or some innovative option! Will wait and watch

[i10]

They seem to be interested in using online wallets - PayTM, Oxigen and the like. May be a tie up Airtel Money or Vodafone mpesa?

[GTO]

Want to read something stupid, shallow and brainless (all in one)? Look no further than this article.

As pro-Uber as the author appears to be, he fails to give credit to an $18 billion company on incorporating a simple 2-step verification system in their app. There are other ways too: always using the same internet pin (as I do with my Citibank card), recharging your account and maintaining a balance, enabling cash payments, credit card processors in Uber taxis etc.

Strangely enough, the genius writing that article seems to think that Uber will exit a market of massive potential, because of 2-step verification!!!

On a related note, here's a detailed review of Uber.

[GTO]

Global taxi-hailing company Uber is in talks with firms providing digital wallets and payment gateways in India as it looks to become compliant with local regulations.

Full Economic Times Article

[GTO]

Uber which until now, stored credit card details to automatically charge a consumer once the taxi ride is over, will integrate Paytm's digital wallet into its payment system.

Source & Full Economic Times Article

[prkiran]

I do see a problem here. What if someone hails a cab with not enough balance in the wallet? Obviously they might need to pay in cash then. That kind of thwarts Uber's USP, doesn't it?

[hrman]

Is Uber's USP really the payment mode or the efficiency in booking and availability of cabs when required? I think it is the latter.

And as a user of OLA, Meru and TFS, I have downloaded, but still not activated the Uber android app, simply because I was not ok with the criteria of asking for CC details upfront.

Now that RBI has mandated two step verification, I will log on to Uber when they tie up with paytm or the sorts.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by hrman

Is Uber's USP really the payment mode or the efficiency in booking and availability of cabs when required? I think it is the latter.

Payment is one of the USP. It's all a combination of factors. The ease to get a car, the condition of the vehicles, the courteous drivers and the biggest USP is that you never have to take out your wallet, argue with driver over payment. I can even send an uber to pick up a relative without having to go down to pay the driver.

And as a user of OLA, Meru and TFS, I have downloaded, but still not activated the Uber android app, simply because I was not ok with the criteria of asking for CC details upfront.

Credit card information is stored by Apple, google play store and a host of other companies. Moreover Uber is not only used by indians. Worldwide people store their cards with Uber and use the service.

Now that RBI has mandated two step verification, I will log on to Uber when they tie up with paytm or the sorts.

They already switched over to paytm. You login to paytm and load currency and use that for Uber.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Payment is one of the USP. It's all a combination of factors. The ease to get a car, the condition of the vehicles, the courteous drivers and the biggest USP is that you never have to take out your wallet, argue with driver over payment. I can even send an uber to pick up a relative without having to go down to pay the driver.



Credit card information is stored by Apple, google play store and a host of other companies. Moreover Uber is not only used by indians. Worldwide people store their cards with Uber and use the service.



They already switched over to paytm. You login to paytm and load currency and use that for Uber.

I read the reviews on Uber on the net. There were complaints of customers being charged on their credit cards for non completed trips and being overcharged. Also complaints of a non responsive customer support. Hence the caution in providing credit card details specifically to Uber. I am aware of Apple/ google's credit card collection practice etc. The reluctance from my side is not for the security of CC data, but the long resolution time in case of disputes. As a matter of principle, I avoid any kind of credit card transactions and rely on good ol' net banking or debit cards..

Thanks for the info on Paytm. Now that they have tied up with paytm, I have been able to log in to the app. Need to still use their services though. Looks promising.

[phamilyman]

Sorry guys, Uber's USP is in matching supply and demand, instead of blindly giving you the nearest cab (which may be 10 km away) and would not be interested in your business.

I've found that out to my misfortune with Ola and Meru at 1:30am at the chennai airport. Supply demand matching is Uber's USP even abroad, where two step verification wasnt compulsory.