Ride-hailing app Uber is working on its own mobile wallet for the Indian market that will accept payments from its customers, said Economic Times.

The firm plans to apply to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a licence to operate the mobile wallet.

Currently, Uber customers pay for rides using Paytm, a leading local wallet. In addition, the firm recently struck a strategic partnership with Bharti Airtel, part of which involves accepting payments via Airtel Money, the operator’s wallet.

Uber has ambitious plans for India, which it believes will be its second largest market after the US.

A source said it will apply to the RBI for a licence to operate a so-called semi-closed wallet. Semi-closed wallets enable users to load money into a wallet for making mobile payments, for instance paying bills, similar to a pre-loaded debit card. However, users are not allowed to redeem the mobile money from their semi-closed wallets back into cash.

Current RBI rules prohibit marketplaces from offering closed wallets but a semiclosed wallet can offer digital payment to a number of merchants on a marketplace. Uber connects drivers to customers, acting as a kind of marketplace, so a semi-closed wallet would ensure Uber is in line with regulations.