Grab gets Philippine license to offer enhanced payments features

Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Grab will expand its payments offerings in the Philippines after it obtained an electronic money issuers’ (EMI) license from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank.

Grab users in the Philippines can already use the GrabPay mobile wallet to pay for ride-hailing trips with the company, as well as its local express delivery service. They can also transfer Grab’s in-app credits to other users.

After getting its EMI license from BSP, Grab will be able to introduce a range of other payments options.

From today, users can top-up their mobile phone credit within the Grab app. The company will also introduce bill payments in the coming weeks.

GrabPay will also be made available as a payment option at third-party merchants, who’ll be able to accept GrabPay mobile payments via QR code.

With the Philippine EMI license under its belt, Grab claims that it now offers licensed payments services across five Southeast Asian countries.

In some jurisdictions, it has sought partnerships or formed joint ventures in order to acquire the necessary regulatory clearance to operate its electronic money-related services.

Earlier this month, Grab teamed up with Vietnamese payments startup Moca to expand GrabPay’s presence in the country. In Indonesia, Grab offers payments-related services under the license held by Ovo, its joint venture with local conglomerate Lippo.

Grab obtained a license to handle cashless payments in Malaysia last December. It also joined forces with local player Maybank to broaden GrabPay’s reach among the bank’s customers and merchant partners.

This followed the November 2017 debut of GrabPay cashless payments at hawker centers and other merchants in Singapore.

The company recently signaled its intention to provide enhanced financial services via the GrabPay platform, including peer-to-peer lending and cross-border remittances.

Grab also announced today that it will “soon” offer on-demand food delivery in the Philippines. Users will be able to pay for the service in-app.