Grab, the ride-hailing giant in Southeast Asia is set to launch its a slew of financial services across the region through its unit, Grab Financial.
The company recently announced it would add GrabPay on its roster of services. GrabPay is an online checkout system allowing sellers to accept Grab’s digital payment service.
The ride-hailing company also intends to offer a post-paid credit payment option, where users can accumulate their expenses on its ride-hailing and food delivery products and pay the sum at every end of each month without extra costs. Grab targets to launch this service in Singapore before expanding to other neighbouring countries.
The company also announced another option, which allows consumers to purchase goods and pay for them in instalments using Grab Financial. This service is currently in the works.
Moreover, the company said it will roll out an online insurance marketplace for entrepreneurs soon after a joint venture with ZhongAn, a Chinese insurer.
Grab’s new financial products, which are launched under the banner “Grow with Grab,” target small and medium-sized firms and start-up entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia. These start-ups frequently struggle to obtain loans from banks and other financial institutions. Small companies also have difficulty in getting investors because they are usually deemed risky.
The company pursued these services after experiencing the problems encountered by start-ups and small businesses, Reuben Lai, Grab Financial Group’s senior managing director, said in an interview.
From this experience, Grab intends to “level the playing field” for start-ups and small businesses in the region, Lai added.
Grab has been aggressively entering the financial services sector since last year. The firm partnered with Credit Saison, a Japanese financial services firm through a joint venture. It also joined forces with ZhongAn for its online insurance business earlier this year.
The company has just announced it secured $1.46 billion in fresh funds from the SoftBank Vision Fund.
