RBI gives more time to Uber to comply with its e-commerce payment rules

KOLKATA: The Reserve Bank of India has given Uber, the San Francisco-based cab operator that has been rapidly gaining users in India, another month to comply with its e-commerce payment rules. The central bank has fixed November 30 as the new deadline as it is satisfied with the progress made by Uber in following the two-step authentication process that it previously was able to circumvent by virtue of having an overseas payment gateway.

"Since Uber has initiated steps to comply with our regulation, we have given them one more month," an RBI spokesperson told ET. The central bank earlier told banks and operators to ensure that payments are in rupees when a credit card is not presented physically.

"Uber is working closely with the RBI to address payment process requirements, while remaining firmly committed to providing riders with a safe, reliable and affor dable transportation option. The RBI has generously granted us an extension until November 30, 2014, to give us sufficient time to migrate to a new payment mechanism, and ensure that consumers enjoy uninterrupted usage of our technology platform," the company said.

Uber users are automatically charged at the end of their ride based on card details stored at the time of enrollment. That's because the authentication doesn't apply when making purchases from websites overseas.