GrabPay just got better at payments.
Following their peer-to-peer announcement, Grab has officially launched offline payments for Singapore’s F&B merchants today.
The new GrabPay wallet focuses includes over “20,000 local, cash-based merchants”. 25 restaurants and hawker stalls in the Central Business District and Bishan area have signed up and “hundreds of hawkers and small businesses” will be soon added.
GrabPay “will [be] progressively rolled out in local neighbourhoods, such as Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar, and Tiong Bahru.” The target for Singapore is 1,000 merchants by end-2017, and then across Southeast Asia in 2018.
To make payments, users can tap the GrabPay button on the top right of the screen. Scan the merchant’s QR code and key in the amount payable.
Slide the navigation bar to send it to the merchant. Both the seller and the customer are instantly notified of the completed transaction.
Perks
Merchants will get to enjoy marketing exposure to a customer base of 4 million in Singapore, and over 63 million in Southeast Asia.
They will not need their own infrastructure besides a smartphone. Cost-wise, it’ll be free for the first 6 months, and low costs afterwards.
For consumers, they get the convenience of not having to download a new app, along with more opportunities for GrabRewards points at over 250 merchants across Southeast Asia.
GrabPay also uses a PIN for extra security,
A Milestone In Payments
“We are enabling Grab users to pay for services outside of transportation [and] focused on helping cash businesses go cashless [with more] access to new customers in an affordable way,” says Tan Hooi Ling, co-founder of Grab at the media event.
“Enabling Grab payments in restaurants and shops is a significant step towards becoming the largest consumer internet platform in Southeast Asia.”
Jason Thompson, Managing Director for GrabPay Southeast Asia, noted that Grab is “uniquely positioned to build the #1 payments platform in Southeast Asia”.
As the platform also work with other QR-code-based mobile payments systems, it can facilitate the “collective effort” to transform Singapore into a cashless society.
Featured Image Credit: Grab