Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing operator, Grab, is expanding its e-wallet feature, GrabPay, as another payment method for food merchants starting Nov. 1. Grab has over four million app users and the said payment feature will give it a much-needed boost in the growing cashless transaction scene.
With its expanded payment feature, Grab is looking to take advantage of one of its major strengths –its large pool of consumers. According to Grab managing director to Southeast Asia, Mr. Jason Thompson, the Grab app has around four million downloads in a country with a population of around 5.6 million.
GrabPay can now be used in 25 hawker stalls and restaurants in the Bishan and Central District areas.
While its initial break-in to the market is a humble one, with just 25 hawker stalls and restaurants in the Bishan and the Central Business District areas accepting GrabPay at the moment, the company is looking to grow the number of their partner merchants to around 1,000 by the end of the year. The company hopes to engage more than 20,000 food stores in Singapore which solely or primarily accept cash payments to join aboard.
This is the first time GrabPay will be used as an e-payment method for merchants in the Southeast Asian region. Currently, Grab is accessible in seven countries for ride booking services only. Merchants can sign up with GrabPay without any transaction fees as of the moment, but this will still be for review after six months.
The company’s decision to join the growing e-payment scene is a response to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s call for simplification and integration of payment systems in the market right now as expressed in his National Day Rally Speech. In this regard, Grab’s vision is to become the No. 1 e-wallet platform in the Southeast Asian region, shared Mr. Thompson.
To buy food using GrabPay, app users can simply scan the partner merchant’s QR code and enter the amount to be paid, and swipe an icon to confirm the payment.