Uber users can now pay for rides using Jio Money

The Indian unit of US ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc. has tied up with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd to allow passengers to pay via the digital wallet of the billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led firm.

The tie-up will also enable users of Jio Money to request and pay for Uber rides from within the mobile wallet app, the ride-hailing firm said in a statement.

An Uber spokesperson told Techcircle that this is the first initiative as part of the partnership and more services will be launched soon.

"Jio Money's integration with Uber will power the rapid migration of many more Uber transactions to the digital platform," said Anirban S Mukherjee, business head, Jio Money.

Uber will gradually roll out the Jio Money payment option for its users across the country. Both companies said they will offer exclusive incentives to every user paying for Uber rides through Jio Money.

Until now, Uber offers users a number of payment options such as Paytm wallet, cash, credit and debit cards. The Uber spokesperson above said Paytm will continue to exist as a payment option on the app.

Uber has been taking several new initiatives to consolidate its presence in India, where it competes with SoftBank Group Corp-backed Ola. Earlier this month, Uber launched its on-demand car-rental service UberHIRE in eight cities to allow users to book a cab for as long as 12 hours.

Last month, Uber said it would launch its global on-demand food delivery app, UberEATS, in India. Last year, it was reported that Uber planned to enter the bus and mini-van aggregator space in India with the launch of Uber Everything.