Uber is reportedly preparing to go all guns blazing into fintech by launching a new unit that will oversee the company’s interests in the burgeoning sector.
Recruitments are already underway as the ride-hailing giant aims to induct several dozen engineers, product managers, and other staff members into the new unit by the end of this year.
The company is yet to make any official announcement regarding the purported move. However, citing unnamed sources, CNBC recently reported that the new fintech unit will be based in New York and will likely include more than 100 employees. This five-month-old job post seeking experienced IC engineers with ‘exceptional technical skills in backend or mobile engineering’ to join Uber’s new NYC unit corroborates these claims.
Uber’s Push Into FinTech is Long Overdue
Uber’s goal is to bring forth ‘new, end-to-end financial product experiences’ for the company’s consumer and supply bases, as described in the job post from above. This approach is in sync with the prevailing trend wherein fintech is increasingly becoming a cash cow for enterprises with large platforms of users. In fact, it is tempting to argue that Uber is somewhat late to join the game. Many of the company’s toughest competitors, especially those in Asia, have already well-established fintech units to add to their revenue streams. For example, Uber’s arch-rival in India, Ola Cabs, first delved into fintech way back in 2015. Today, the company has a stand-alone mobile payments app dubbed Ola Money with millions of users. Similarly, Indonesia-based Go-Jek rolled out its Go-Pay service in 2016 while Malaysia’s Grab launched its own payments services in 2017. Meanwhile, over in China, massively popular apps like WeChat and AliPay are also increasingly focusing on integrating ride-hailing services into their platforms. Better late than never, though! With a massive user-base of around 93 million (and counting), Uber could theoretically do a lot with its new fintech endeavor. For example, it could add multiple new dimensions to its existing offerings such as Uber Cash, which rewards users when they fund their wallets, and Uber Rewards, the company’s loyalty program. Alternatively, the company could also be evaluating the feasibility of offering banking services of some sort, as claimed by one of CNBC’s sources.
Could There Be A Crypto or Blockchain Element?
While Uber has so far remained tight-lipped regarding the roadmap for its new fintech unit, imagining that it will have some crypto or blockchain elements to it is perhaps not too farfetched. After all, the company’s co-founder Garrett Camp is already a familiar name in the crypto space. He has previously launched a cryptocurrency called EcoCoin last year. Camp, who is currently serving on Uber’s Board of Directors, continues to be an influential voice within the ride-hailing giant. Theoretically, Uber could get cozy with blockchain to further simplify peer-to-peer payments between users. Also, while it may sound somewhat radical at this juncture, the company could also consider accepting cryptocurrency payments. If done right, it would ensure low transaction fees among other perks. So what’s your take on Uber’s new fintech ambitions? Would you like to see the company following the footsteps of Facebook to launch its own cryptocurrency someday? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Shilpa Lama
Shilpa is a Highly experienced freelance Crypto and tech
journalist who is deeply passionate about artificial intelligence and pro-freedom technologies such as distributed ledgers and cryptocurrencies.
She has been covering the blockchain industry since 2017. Before her ongoing stint in tech media, Shilpa was lending her skills to government-backed fintech endeavors in Bahrain and a leading US-based non-profit dedicated to supporting open-source software projects.
In her current...
Shilpa is a Highly experienced freelance Crypto and tech
journalist who is deeply passionate about artificial intelligence and pro-freedom technologies such as distributed ledgers and cryptocurrencies.
She has been covering the blockchain industry since 2017. Before her ongoing stint in tech media, Shilpa was lending her skills to government-backed fintech endeavors in Bahrain and a leading US-based non-profit dedicated to supporting open-source software projects.
In her current...
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