Sao Paulo — Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies planned to open a 250-million real ($64m) centre in Brazil to develop technology to improve safety for its passengers and drivers, including for drivers to accept cash, a crucial payment method in its rapid expansion in Latin America, the company said on Friday. Uber’s safety product director Sachin Kansal said in an interview that the investment over the next five years would fund an office with about 150 technology specialists in Sao Paulo, where the company provided more rides than anywhere in the world. The development centre, Uber’s first in Latin America and one of a dozen around the world, will open by the end of 2018. Brazil is Uber’s second-largest national market after the US, with one billion rides in the past four years and a profitable bottom line, according to executives. Yet the imperative of accepting cash for rides instead of relying solely on credit and debit cards has also brought safety challenges. CEO Dara Khosr...
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