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Hello readers,
If you’re anything like me, then online delivery is probably your new best friend this year. From filling up my belly to stocking up on Ben & Jerry’s ice cream tubs, I’ve relied on apps like Grab. While the super app’s food and transport services have been turbocharged by Covid-19, its latest business-to-business offering could be a gold mine: GrabDefence, its fraud detection and prevention technology.
Today we look at:
- Could GrabDefence be Grab’s AWS?
- A deep dive into telehealth in Asia Pacific
- Other newsy highlights such as how Chinese venture capital investors are pivoting to Indonesia and the business of fake viewers in China
PREMIUM SUMMARY
Grab tackles fraud – the AWS way
Originally built by Amazon for internal use, AWS – the big dog in the cloud computing market – accounted for 79% of the retail giant’s total operating income in 2019. GrabDefence has a similar start: The anti-fraud technology was also an in-house tool used to tackle fraudulent activities such as GPS faking and phantom bookings. But can GrabDefence follow AWS’ footsteps to success?
- GrabDefence: Launched in 2019, the service is currently being used by an e-payments provider and piloted by a logistics service provider. Last month, Grab also partnered with financial risk technology company Jewel Paymentech to offer a combined suite of fraud solutions to digital banking services.
- Is fraud Grab’s promised land? With the explosion of online users comes the rise of cyberfraud. Cybersecurity issues have the potential to cause significant reputational damage and business disruption, the market opportunity for anti-fraud solutions in Asia Pacific’s financial services industry is worth up to US$27 billion.
- Not a happy ending yet: The anti-fraud space, however, is a crowded market. GrabDefence faces competition from players like Jumio, whose solutions are already being used by six of the top banks in the Philippines. To add on to Grab’s troubles, there have also been recent reports of fraud involving GrabPay.
Read more: Can Grab’s anti-fraud foray become its AWS?
NEWS SPOTLIGHT
The doctor will see you now (virtually)
What to expect from healthcare startups in Singapore
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