Uber Said to Be in Talks to Tap Chase for Payment Processing
Uber, the red-hot transportation startup, may move some of its payment processing to JPMorgan Chase from longtime partner Braintree, a PayPal company, Bank Innovation has learned.
A source inside JPMorgan told Bank Innovation that the bank — presumably its Chase Paymentech unit — is in talks to snatch a portion of Uber’s payments business from Braintree. The source told us there is no indication that Uber will sever its relationship with Braintree; just that Chase will receive a portion of Uber’s payments volume.
Uber and Braintree declined to comment.
Uber is one of the hottest startups in Silicon Valley, recently valued at $18.2 billion. The company’s unique strategy of making it easier to hail and pay for cabs is a case study in how frictionless payment services can take off. The startup reportedly makes a lot of money, and processes all of its payments through Braintree.
When you register as a User, your credit card information is provided to our payment processing provider Braintree Payment Solutions, LLC. in order to process payments for your requests or rides.
It’s hard to tell why Uber would decide to move some of its payment processing away from PayPal/Braintree. Perhaps Uber is unhappy with Braintree’s service or pricing? Alternatively, adding Chase Paymentech might be a way of distributing Uber’s vendor and pricing risk. Either way, just the fact that Uber’s payments business is up for grabs should increase the adrenaline of many a banking executive.
