Grab Financial Group (GFG), a Southeast Asia financial technology (FinTech) and ridesharing company, is expanding its reach with the announcement on Tuesday (Aug. 4) that it will offer consumer loans in Singapore along with wealth management products.
Called âThrive with Grab,â the strategy is designed to tap into the regionâs vast market. More than 70 percent of Southeast Asians are underbanked, according to a Google, Temasek and Bain & Co. report.
Under the Thrive umbrella is a micro-investment that allows users to invest small sums of money into liquid, fixed-income funds offered by Fullerton Fund Management and UOB Asset Management for a âlowâ fee. Users can also access consumer loans from the bankâs partners as well as a zero-interest, buy now pay later (BNPL) payment option for select eCommerce websites.
âOur âThrive with Grabâ strategy will enable users to build their wealth, manage their finances and protect what they value during this uncertain period,â said Reuben Lai, GFGâs senior managing director, in a statement. âBy offering innovative micro-transaction-based financial services, convenient financial management tools and access to products from leading global financial institutions, we hope to unlock the tremendous potential in financial services in the region in ways that serve all Southeast Asians.â
At the start of the year, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group invested more than $700 million in Grab. The move gave Japanâs largest bank access to the companyâs millions of daily users.
Grab also has received $2.6 billion from SoftBank and is looking for more sources of funding to expand.
But not all of Grabâs choices have been winners. In March, Grab partnered with Wirecard AG, the now-bankrupt German payment company, to facilitate payments and transfers. Under the agreement, Wirecard would process payments and transfers using GrabPayâs digital wallet, initially targeting markets in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
âWe are thrilled to partner with Wirecard as we progress on our journey of building a cashless economy for millions of businesses across Southeast Asia,â said Lai at the time. âWirecardâs innovative mobile payments solutions will not only complement our GrabPay eWallet platform, but also offers businesses and consumers the opportunity to transact with greater security, convenience and flexibility.â
But three months later, after Wirecardâs auditors failed to confirm the existence of $2.1 billion in trust accounts, Grab reportedly halted its collaboration. âWe have not begun business integration work on the Wirecard partnership and we are pausing the partnership till further notice,â a Grab spokesperson told Reuters.