Uber Visa was a product that let you use your credit card to pay for rides, but it’s been discontinued. The company has been focusing on the U.S. market instead of international expansion, and it’s also been working on self-driving cars and other products.
Uber Visa being discontinued is a sign that the company has given up on its vision of world domination. Read more in detail here: uber news.
The cancellation of Uber Visa demonstrates how the company has abandoned its vision of global dominance.
on August 10, 2024 by Gary Leff
Uber’s IPO a little over two years ago was a flop, and its stock dropped by roughly a third before nearly rebounding to its pre-pandemic IPO price. Ignore the pandemic’s 50% decline and subsequent rebound (it even rose as part of re-opening euphoria this spring). It’s back to where it was before the IPO.
While Uber was a cash-strapped company, going to the stock market was more about insiders cashing out than it was about generating money for the firm. If there was ever a sign that the business was no longer the industry disruptor it once was, it was the appointment of the former CEO of Expedia as its CEO two years before its IPO.
Uber’s aspirations have been cut down in various ways. It sold its Southeast Asia and China businesses to Grab and Didi, respectively. It attempted helicopter service and temporary labor services, but none of them worked out. The long-term goal was to replace drivers with autonomous cars, but the company has already sold off its self-driving car division.
Instead of being innovative, they are now using government authorities to stifle competition in the same manner that they battled against the taxi business when they were on the receiving end of it.
The Barclays Uber Visa will be phased down on October 22, 2024, with cardholders being switched to the Barclays View card, which is the same product that former Apple Rewards users receive. Uber has yet to announce whether or not it will debut with a new co-brand card partner.
The Uber Visa remained mostly dormant for a long time.
- I never got card solicitations even as an Uber Diamond member.
- They never attempted gaining consumers in-app, during a trip — when they’d be reaching their most probable customers and the product would be fresh in their minds.
- Even worse, the card didn’t work with Uber… There were no Uber advantages from utilizing it (while American Express offered cards that gave Uber VIP). Spending on the card did not enhance one’s Uber Rewards elite status.
Indeed, Uber Rewards has been steadily devalued, with top-tier Diamond members no longer eligible to surprise-and-delight upgrades and Platinum members no longer entitled to surge protection on a single route of choice.
The Uber Visa was first introduced in the autumn of 2017 and then reintroduced two years later. It went from being a cash back card to a way to earn Uber credits.
This was significant because it was intended to be the cornerstone of Uber’s plan to create its own currency, Uber credits, which would become widely accepted as a payment mechanism not only for Uber goods but also outside of the Uber ecosystem. The co-brand credit card would be the main source of these credits, which would ideally become spendable at any retail location.
Uber cut off a significant part of its marketing team, including those responsible for the card, just as the redesign was nearing completion. After a few months, the card was no longer available as a new client option. That was the end of the experiment in developing Uber as a currency rather than simply a ridesharing and food delivery platform, at least for the time being.
Existing Uber card users will no longer be Uber card customers, which is more than simply a change in card provider – even if an Uber card is relaunched with a new bank partner, they aren’t purchasing the Barclays back book as a customer base to start from.
