Uber, the global ride-hailing platform that seamlessly connects riders with drivers, with an aim to encourage digital financial inclusion in Pakistan, is introducing digital payments for its riders and partner drivers, in collaboration with Easypaisa, Pakistan’s leading digital payments platform. Uber & Easypaisa partner to introduce cashless payments. Under this partnership, Uber riders and partner drivers will both be able to pay for their Uber rides and platform fees respectively, using Easypaisa. For this purpose, Uber is adding an in-app feature called ‘Uber Cash’ to the app, that will allow users to add funds to the Uber Cash balance, and use them to pay efficiently and safely for their rides. Riders will be able to top-up their balance with Easypaisa, and use it to pay for rides without the need of exchanging physical cash. While currently Uber offers the option of making payments via cash and Debit/Credit cards, this new facility of cashless transactions opens its gates to almost 10 million Easypaisa App users. Uber Cash not only minimizes the risk of fraudulent transactions, it also adds value to Uber’s global safety campaign, aimed to curb the risk of Covid-19 infections, by limiting unnecessary physical contact. Shahid Khan, Country Head at Uber Pakistan, has stated, “At Uber, we are committed to our communities and continue to utilize our state-of-the-art technology to bring innovative features to our platform, and recognize the convenience that digital transactions offer for quick, safe, seamless, and hygienic payments. We are hopeful that this collaboration with Easypaisa would help remove hesitation barriers for online payments and enable a larger segment of the market to adopt digital financial service options in a digitally progressive era.” Must Read: Four social enterprises emerge victorious in UNDP-Jazz SDG Bootcamps 1st cohort Commenting on the partnership, M. Mudassar Aqil, CEO Easypaisa / Telenor Microfinance Bank said: “Pakistan is a digitally evolving economy. Through the power of collaboration and technology, various sectors have the potential to show exceptional development and partnerships are crucial in helping this initiative grow further. Easypaisa is playing its part in building an innovative, digital ecosystem where cash can be eliminated from the daily lifecycles of individuals and businesses alike. This relationship with Uber marks another milestone in our journey to provide convenient, secure and seamless digital financial services to all Pakistanis”. This strategic initiative is aimed towards bringing digital financial inclusion across Uber’s business operations and drive digitization in Pakistan. Earlier this year, Uber also partnered up with Mastercard in a similar move, to provide its riders with free rides to and from vaccination centers. Here is how Uber Cash works: 1. Open the Uber app on your phone. 2. Go to ‘Wallet or Uber Cash’ in the app menu and tap on Add Funds to your Uber Cash balance. 3. Select One-time purchase or Auto-refill as per your preference. 3. Select your preferred payment method and the amount you want to top up. 4. While requesting a ride, change your payment method at the bottom to Uber Cash.
Uber and TEVTA join hands to create large-scale economic opportunities
Uber, the global ride-hailing giant connecting riders to drivers, has partnered with the Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority TEVTA to support the Government of Punjab’s objective of creating economic opportunities. Their goal is to use demand-driven, standardized, dynamic, and integrated technical education and vocational training services to create a productive workforce. Speaking at TEVTA’s Certificate and Driving License Distribution Ceremony, Saad Naveed Pall, GM Uber, said, “Uber seeks to empower individuals to benefit from the opportunities the digital economy has to offer.” He further added, “We are hopeful that this collaboration with TEVTA will pave the way in promoting financial inclusion through large-scale economic opportunities.” The Minister of Punjab for Industries, Commerce and Investment/Information and Culture, Mian Aslam Iqbal, was also present at the ceremony along with Capt (R) Liaqat Ai Malik, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Lahore. Must Read: Telenor Pakistan becomes the first Telco to launch Mobile Data Plan for Android users in Pakistan The memorandum of understanding signed between the two organizations outlines that creating a conducive space of learning for the youth is especially important for Pakistan’s economy with the increasing need for jobs. Through this partnership, TEVTA’s students and prospective students will be able to earn their livelihoods by signing up on Uber’s platform as driver-partners using motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, and other vehicles. The training program, approved by TEVTA, Traffic Police and Uber, shall support the development of technical skills and operational capabilities, and provide potential driver-partners with the necessary tools needed to ensure safety and security. “Collaborative efforts between TEVTA and Uber will ensure provision of economic opportunities to TEVTA Trainees in Punjab thus realizing TEVTA’s vision of end-to-end solutions, and is another step towards digital transformation through a pragmatic approach incorporating the ever growing digital economy,” said Mr. Ali Salman Siddique, Chairperson TEVTA.
Uber Completes 5 Billion Rides Across the World
Uber has much reason to celebrate – as it announced crossing the 5 billion Rides worldwide trips mark recently. To make this happen, 156 trips started simultaneously at 7:29:06 am GMT, in 24 countries across six continents, in cities including Dubai, Moscow and the capital city of Pakistan – Islamabad. In late 2015, Uber made headlines for crossing the 1 billion trips mark. Six months later, the company reached 2 billion rides, and over the last 11 months Uber has witnessed incredible growth to reach an impressive combined 5 billion rides. In Pakistan, two partner-drivers helped Uber reach the 5 billion rides milestone. In Islamabad, Umer Ejaz Malik completed a trip to Jinnah Avenue. While in Karachi, Muhammad Kashif completed one to Shahrah e Usman. Uber started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get a ride at the push of a button? Uber wouldn’t have reached this milestone without the dedicated service of its partner-drivers. As a token of appreciation, Uber will be giving each of the 156 drivers who were part of this milestone $500, including both partner-drivers from Pakistan. At Uber we are proud of our partner-drivers who have made it possible for us to achieve this milestone. It’s amazing that out of the 156 simultaneous trips taken worldwide, two were in Pakistan, one being in one of our newest markets; Islamabad. – Safee Shah, GM of Uber Pakistan Muhammad Kashif, who completed one of 156 trips that started simultaneously, and which took place on UberAUTO, said: I am feeling very happy, and there is no way I can express it with words. Umar from Islamabad expressed how he felt about the occasion and said: A special thanks to Uber for giving us this award, and it is great to use the Uber app. Uber is committed to growing its network, providing safe, reliable, and affordable transportation and improving the mobility and transport infrastructure of the cities in which it operates, while also focusing on building new and innovative features for riders and drivers.
Uber will appeal against the arbitration ruling in lawsuit against Waymo
Uber will appeal a judge’s order rejecting its try to arbitrate a high-profile trade secrets lawsuit against Alphabet’s self-driving Waymo product, corresponding to a courtroom filing on Thursday night. U.S. District Judge William Alsup the other day ruled that Waymo’s lawsuit shouldn’t be heard in an exclusive website, and instead should continue being litigated in SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA federal court. The situation, which pits two companies fighting to dominate the fast-growing field of self-driving vehicles, hinges on data that Waymo alleges engineer Anthony Levandowski stole before giving the business. Waymo claims the info made its way into Uber’s Lidar system, an integral sensor technology in self-driving vehicles. Levandowski kept Waymo in January 2016 and began Otto, a self-driving vehicle startup that Uber bought for $680 million in August. He previously until previous month run Uber’s self-driving car department, before stepping apart from those duties pending the court docket case. Alsup also given an injunction placing your order Uber to keep Levandowski from work concerning Lidar, to avoid him and all the employees from using the materials also to return those to Waymo by May 31. Uber hasn’t yet said in courtroom documents whether it blueprints to charm the injunction. An Uber spokesman dropped to comment. A spokesman for Waymo criticized Uber’s decision to charm the order on arbitration. “Uber’s charm is a blatant try to cover their misconduct from the general public,” the Waymo spokesman said in a affirmation. Reuters
Judge claims that there surely is no clear data to prove case Waymo’s promises against Uber
A U.S. judge on Thursday said he previously not seen clear facts that Uber Solutions Inc got conspired with an engineer on its do it yourself generating car program to take trade secrets from Alphabet Inc’s Waymo, and that he was wrestling with whether to concern an injunction from the trip service. At a ability to hear in SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA federal courtroom, U.S. Region Judge William Alsup said it was undisputed that the engineer, Anthony Levandowski, downloaded about 14,000 documents quickly before he ceased doing work for Waymo. If it were proven that Levandowski and Uber conspired in taking Waymo’s information, that can have dire repercussions for Uber, say legal and ride-hailing skillfully developed. Uber’s $68 billion valuation is recognized partly by buyers’ belief it’ll be a prominent player in the appearing business of self-driving automobiles. However, Alsup indicated skepticism over whether Uber actually used any Waymo trade secrets. “I’ve given you plenty of discovery, therefore far you do not have any smoking firearm” exhibiting that Uber understood Levandowski possessed any Waymo trade secrets, Alsup said. Waymo legal professional Charles Verhoeven said the business suspects such proof exists. Levandowski dropped to answer questions throughout a deposition, citing his constitutional privileges against self applied incrimination. Verhoeven also said Uber was incorrectly withholding a large number of documents on the lands they are private legal documents. The judge didn’t make a ruling from the bench on Wed. The reading is the latest period in a courtroom struggle over trade secrets that threatens to topple a central pillar of Uber’s expansion strategy. Autonomous autos promise to improve the economics of the ride-hailing business. Among Uber’s biggest bills is the price tag on attracting drivers, who’ve a higher turnover rate. And Uber’s capability to increase into suburban and rural market segments, and areas with low vehicle possession, and continue steadily to provide a trip within 3 minutes, largely depends on the option of a network of self-driving vehicles. Waymo on Wed looked for to buttress its circumstance by arguing that Levandowski and Uber possessed conspired against Waymo. It said the engineer was likely to benefit Uber while he still was used at Waymo. Levandowski made a self-driving trucking company, Otto, after giving Waymo, and Uber later bought Otto. Waymo lawyers showed a glide of your Uber document exhibiting Levandowski have been guaranteed 5.3 million constrained stock products of Uber. That was worthy of more than $250 million in January 2016, the legal professional said, without talking about in detail the foundation of the valuation. An Uber spokesman said the stock honor was actually manufactured in reference to Uber’s acquisition of Otto in August 2016, and the vesting start particular date was backdated to overdue January so that Levandowski’s time at Otto counted for the Uber vesting routine. Alsup himself didn’t appear stunned. “Just what exactly? That’s a lot of cash I assume, but why wouldn’t he get big money?” he asked. Verhoeven said it was circumstantial proof bad purpose by Levandowski and Uber. “He’s getting granted stock by Uber when he’s supposedly starting his own company,” he said. Uber legal professional Arturo Gonzalez on Thursday said that lawyers had put in more than 6,000 time on report review and hadn’t found any signal of the Waymo documents in Uber’s system. Alsup complimented Uber’s search attempts. However, the judge said that documents Uber has withheld about its acquisition of Otto are “a treasure trove” which will be key to the truth. He hasn’t made the decision whether Uber has properly shielded those documents. The judge also said he was still considering whether to send Waymo’s trade technique says to arbitration, which wouldn’t normally be public. Reuters
