Grab expands e-payment service

MANILA, Philippines — As part of its transition from a ride-hailing service to an “everyday” application, Grab Philippines said yesterday it is planning to expand digital payment services through GrabPay mobile wallet feature.

Ooi Huey Tyng, managing director of Grabpay Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, made the announcement after Grab Philippines acquired its e-money license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) last August.

“Today, we are happy to announce that GrabPay has been granted e-money license, which opens up all kinds of possibilities. With the license, we can be able to provide more services to our payment platform,” Ooi said.

With this new development, Ooi said Grab consumers are now able to top-up their mobile prepaid load and send peer-to-peer GrabPay credits.

Ooi said Grab users will also soon be able to pay bills and make in-store and in-restaurants purchases through the application. She said major merchants, restaurant partners and small businesses will also be able to receive mobile payments with GrabPay’s QR technology.

However, she has yet to provide the specific date when these services will be made available.

The Philippines is the fifth country in Southeast Asia where the full suite of GrabPay mobile wallet services will be available.

Ooi said this launching is a step toward Grab’s goal of becoming an “everyday super app” and an ASEAN mobile wallet.

She also expressed confidence that through the move, Grab would be able to help more Filipinos gain access to financial services.

“The Philippines has one of the highest percentages of people in Southeast Asia who do not have a bank account and who transact in cash. We believe Grab, an everyday app available on one in two smartphones in the Philippines can make a difference where other e-wallers have not been able to so far,” Ooi said.

“With the support from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, we can now help millions to participate in the cashless, digital economy without the need for a bank account or to download additional apps,” she said.

Currently, Ooi said 20 percent of Grab’s users in the Philippines are making use of the e-payment option within the app. She said this rate of penetration would enable Grab make a smoother transition toward an everyday app.

“Even before we launched, we’re saying 20 percent of the transactions through Grab platform is already cashless. So with that positive pickup, we raised our expectations. We expect the penetration to grow beyond 20 percent,” she said.