BUDDING mobile-payments platform and on-demand transportation provider Grab has expanded its digital-currency solution with the introduction of its peer-to-peer (P2P) fund-transfer feature.
Jason Thompson, who heads GrabPay, said the new feature enables passengers to send GrabPay Credits to one another, describing it as “instant and simple.” “Most Filipinos still do not have credit and debit cards. We’re very happy to have launched GrabPay Credits to serve more Filipino passengers. Now with Peer-to-peer fund transfer available, we hope to encourage more passengers to expand the use of GrabPay as a mobile wallet,” he said.
Grab introduced GrabPay in the Philippines late last year. It allows customers to purchase Grab Credits—its native digital currency—which is primarily used to pay for transactions within the Grab app.
“Despite the availability of multiple payment channels, the Philippines is still predominantly driven by cash transactions. The fear of overspending hinders Filipinos from going cashless. As a result, they miss out on a lot of benefits and perks that add more value to every transaction,” Thompson lamented.
Grab plans to become a huge financial-technology player in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations within the decade.
Today, the Grab app has been downloaded onto over 50 million mobile devices, giving passengers access to the region’s largest land-transportation fleet comprising over 1.1 million drivers. It offers private car, motorbike, taxi and carpooling services across seven countries and 65 cities in Southeast Asia, with one of every three passengers using multiple services.