After revolutionising system transportation around the world, Uber Technologies is looking to vie for a share of the global e-payments market. The company formally applied to the Dutch central bank for a European payments processing licence that will enable it streamline its payment processes across businesses such as its core ride-hailing app and its fast-growing UberEats food delivery venture.
UberEats is a food-ordering app, designed to leverage the company’s vast network of drivers scattered across different locations to make meal ordering and delivery faster and more efficient. Prior to becoming a standalone app, the service was available inside the regular ride-sharing app for about a year and half. In Africa, UberEats standalone app was first launched in South Africa before it came to Nigeria in 2016.
UberEats may not be very popular in Nigeria, but the ride-hailing side of Uber’s business is well known to many people living in cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
According to an Uber spokesperson, the ride-hailing company is “constantly expanding the range of products we offer and improving the experience for those who use our apps.”
Sky News reports that in a bid to be classified as an electronic money institution, Uber has created a new subsidiary called Uber Payments BV.
Following the setting up of the unit, the company has gone to the market to recruit a non-executive director to serve on the board of the new unit. The supervisory board will consist of two members and will operate in accordance to Dutch company law.
Uber’s e-payment move is seen as efforts to clone the success of its South East Asian rival, Grab. Grab has its own peer-to-peer payments app and recently expanded its financial services offerings with the launch of a dedicated unit and the introduction of microloans and insurance products.
Interestingly, Uber agreed to sell its business in South East Asia to Grab on Monday, 26 March, 2018. The deal will see Grab merging Uber’s ride-hailing and food delivery businesses with its own operations. Meanwhile, Uber will acquire a 27.5 percent stake in Grab and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowashahi will join the firm’s board.
