Uber testing ‘cash on delivery’ model in Hyderabad. May roll-out in other cities soon

If you get stranded at Banjara Hills area in the middle of the night or don’t know how to reach home from Cyberabad, you won’t have to think twice these days as taking an Uber will now be simpler in Hyderabad. If there’s one point where the Uber was trailing behind India made Ola Cabs was its complex payment policy. While earlier a passenger needed to recharge the Uber wallet online before boarding a cab, the US based cab hailing technology will now let passengers pay direct cash to the drivers.

As per a news report by The Economic Times, Uber now aims to gain a deeper understanding of customer behaviour, preferences and usage trends so it can develop more robust payment options for India - its largest and fastest-growing market outside the United States.
"Tradition dictates that cash plays a big role for Indian consumers. As a data-driven technology company that has seen strong growth in India we feel this is the right time to explore the extent of this predisposition when it comes to our service," Siddharth Shanker, Uber's Hyderabad general manager told the ET.

The option for cash payments will roll out gradually over the next few days since the company is still testing different cohorts and user preferences, Shanker said. In April, Uber introduced cash payments for its newly launched autorickshaws service in Delhi.

Except from Uber, it’s rivals in India including Ola, Meru and TaxiForSure have all accepted cash since their inception. When Uber launched in India with cashless credit card transactions as the only mode of payment, its competitors introduced a digital wallet or credit card payment feature as an option to match up.

However, a deeper understanding of Indian consumer psyche proves that Indians are keen on paying in cash, which is why the custom made Cash on Delivery has gained tremendous popularity over the year.