What Drivers Need to Know About Uber Money

Everybody knows that Uber is trying to become profitable. To that end, they announced Uber Money. In video and article we are going to share with you what we know about Uber Money and how it may impact you.

And stick around because at the end of the video, I’m going to give you a thumbs up or a thumbs down on whether I think Uber money is good for drivers.

Take a look at the video, and scroll below to read the video transcript.

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What is Uber Money?

The head of Uber Money, Peter Hazelhurt wrote that Uber Money is, “A team within Uber working on financial products and technologies that deliver additional value for the Uber community, all at Uber speed.”

You know how iwe don’t have to collect cash or credit cards in our cars? We’re not taxis. It all goes through the app. Well in 40% of Uber’s network, the drivers still collect cash or credit cards. Part of the mission of Uber Money is to eliminate that so that all Uber drivers don’t have to collect any cash.

Faster payments worldwide

They also want to make it easier for a drivers to get their money that they’ve earned quickly. Here in the United States, of course, we have the the ability to cash out quickly. As you can see right here, I just pulled this yesterday. You just click on cash out and you can see on the second screenshot, the money is available immediately. This is something that they want to bring to all the drivers and all of this, I say great, good on you.

Changes to Uber credit cards

I was reading an article on a website called One Mile at a Time, and I found out this interesting information about what changes have been made to Uber’s credit card with the announcement of Uber Money.

As you see in this little screenshot here, we can see that before the announcement, Uber was offering 4% back on dining, including Uber Eats, 3% on hotels, 2% back on online purchases, 1% back on everything else. And now they’re offering is 5% back on Uber.

When you take Uber rides, you’re now getting 5% cash back, including Uber Eats. That’s the biggest change they’ve added to the card. So now they’ve made the Uber card really benefit people who use Uber. And then you get the same 3% back on dining, hotels, and airfare, 1% back on all the other purchases. So they basically made the card more beneficial to those of us who use Uber and any of the Uber services.

Transitioning to Uber Cash over cash back

Before, the credit card offered actual cash rewards. Now instead of getting cash back, you’re getting Uber Cash, which basically means you’re getting credits toward Uber purchases. For example, if you got 5% back on an Uber ride, let’s say you took a $100 Uber ride, you would get $5 in Uber cash, which you could then use on your next Uber ride.

That applies to anything within the Uber universe. And as you can see here in the Wall Street Journal, that even includes helicopter rides. We find is that it costs $233 to to have a flight in Manhattan from the Goldman Sachs headquarters in lower Manhattan to JFK. Well, that would give you a 5% cash reward. Again, Uber Cash towards your next purchase.

How this could contribute to Uber’s path to profitability

I was reading another article in a publication called The Observer. And in that article I found this very interesting quote from Robert Johnson, who is a professor of finance at Creighton University. He says, “Uber operates in the ride-hailing, personal mobility, food delivery, freight, and driverless vehicles market and is yet to exhibit a clear path to profitability in any of them. And all of these sectors face stiff competition. The firm has proven it can grow revenues, but has also proven adept at growing costs.”

This continues to be the issue with both Uber and Lyft. Uber notoriously eported a $5 billion loss in a single quarter, in three months. This is an attempt for them to get into another niche, other expansion of their universe, in an attempt to become profitable.

Key takeaways about Uber Money

For drivers in the United States, we already have a cashless transactions. But for the rest of the world, the 40% that don’t, if they become cashless, that’s really good for the drivers. Same with being able to cash out quickly. So you work a day, you make $100, $200 whatever you make and you can put it right into your bank account.

I love that feature for the drivers that are in other parts of the world where they don’t have that available and now it’s going to become available. As far as Uber using Uber Cash rewards, it’s very similar to Apple to me. Apple has created their own ecosystem and they try and keep you in, so you use only Apple products.

I’m okay with that because I love Apple. Same with Uber. When I travel, when I’m in Paris and I’m using Uber all the time, I don’t mind getting Uber cash because I do use Uber. So if you’re an Uber customer, that’s fine, I think it’s great. And it’s also good for drivers because if more people are using Uber Cash, there’s going to be more demand for Ubers, and that’s going to be in your market, and that means surge could go up and less wait time in between rides.

Overall…Thumbs up!

Good for Uber, for expanding what they can offer to people. At some point Uber I think is going to figure out something that really can turn a profit much the way that Amazon, was not profitable for such a long time and then boom, they became hugely successful.

Uber keeps experimenting, trying different things and eventually I believe they’ll eventually come onto something just because they’re Uber and they’re a leader and they’re bold and they’re innovative and, go Uber! Good on you for giving it the try and going for it.

This is Jay Cradeur with The Rideshare Guy. Thank you for watching the video. And if you liked the video, share a comment about what you think about Uber Money. What do you think about the idea of having a credit card that doesn’t give you actual cash rewards but Uber Cash rewards instead?

You all go out and have a great day. I’ll see on the road.

 

 

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