SBI AND UBER ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP

We are thrilled to announce a first of its kind partnership with India’s largest bank – State Bank of India (SBI). Through this partnership, driver-partners interested in working on Uber’s platform can apply for a vehicle loan which will be sanctioned instantly, using an inbuilt digital offering. This new product will enable thousands of skilled drivers to overcome liquidity crunch and excess documentation requirements, to become a micro-entrepreneur.

This new product moves away from traditional methods that relied on IT returns and balance sheets, and instead uses expected driver earnings on Uber’s platform to provide vehicle finance.

“The on-demand transportation segment growth has created a whole new ecosystem enabling lakhs of Indians to earn livelihood by becoming micro-entrepreneurs on such platforms. In the process, it has also opened up a new world of opportunities for the banking industry, not just in the on-demand transportation loan space but also in other areas like payment wallet, consumer finance etc. It is now upon us to leverage these opportunities. Doing so requires us to think and go beyond the traditional banking products and delivery services.” SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said, after launching the product.

“India is a global market priority for us; the robust growth we’ve seen in India in just about two years is phenomenal. In such a short span of time, we’ve got over 250,000 driver partners on our platform who have become micro-entrepreneurs today. We believe in building deep relationships with India’s leading financial services partners that help us drive growth and reach driver-partners and consumers across the country. And this unique vehicle financing program with SBI is one way of building that relationship. We’re excited to create tens of thousands of micro entrepreneurs by enabling them to start their careers on the Uber platform, by owning their cars, through this program with SBI.” said Eric Alexander, President of Business, Asia Pacific at Uber.

We are exploring further collaboration opportunities with SBI on various other areas including a special scheme for the Faujis who intend to drive on the Uber platform.