Could Uber's Debit Account for Drivers Change the Gig Economy?
Until self-driving car technology is ready for prime time, Uber (NYSE: UBER) will need a whole lot of drivers for its business model to work. The rideshare company may have great, user-friendly technology and offer a service that people want, but if it can't find enough folks willing to drive their cars on its behalf, it all falls apart.
Anything it can do to make life better for those drivers increases the odds that they'll stay with Uber longer, work more hours, and perhaps even recommend the gig to others. With that in mind (and also to support its model of keeping prices low for customers), the company has announced the launch of Uber Money, an in-house team "working on financial products and technologies that deliver additional value for the Uber community."
The first Uber Money products were introduced by Peter Hazlehurst, who leads the division, on Monday at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas. Hazlehurst delivered one of the keynote speeches at the gathering of financial services and financial technology professionals, laying out some of the new services and Uber's reasons for offering them.
Source Fool.com