Ola Cabs has announced that it is revamping its digital payments experience, where users will be able to use UPI to pay the driver directly through the Ola app. The feature will launch in Bengaluru by the end of this week and is expected to be rolled out pan-India over the course of December, CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said on Thursday.
“You’ll be able to use UPI to pay the driver directly through the Ola app just like UPI is used daily. Driver app will show a QR if you want to scan. More than 2 million drivers on Ola will join the likes of millions of UPI merchants overnight. Going live end of next week in Bengaluru and end of December nationally,” he wrote on X.
Currently, the platform allows users to either pay in cash, via Ola Money, with credit or debit card and via Ola Money postpaid.
Platforms like Ola and Uber have been operating on a weekly payout model to its drivers, which has been a cause of concern raised by various taxi workers’ associations across the state as most drivers end up in a cash crunch situation, as maintenance costs like fuel charges, repairing, etc, require the driver to pay out of pocket often before the payment for the week has arrived.