With plans to launch GrabPay mobile payment method in all 8 Southeast Asian countries this year, Grab has launched GrabPay in Malaysia on 26th June, making it the second country after Singapore. GrabPay is greatly accessibly and accepted by over 500 food and beverage merchants. Consumers can make purchases similar to other QR code payment methods, by scanning the unique QR codes provided at each merchant. When transactions are paid using GrabPay Credits, GrabPay Rewards points are earned to claim for items in the GrabRewards catalogue.
Consumers can now choose to top up GrabPay credits into their Grab app and use them for making payment for in-app services and partner merchant outlets. On top of that, users can choose to reload their wallets using credit/debit card, bank transfer or at 7-Eleven outlets. Consumers can also conduct funds transfer between users simply with their phone numbers or in-app QR codes.
Indeed, Malaysia takes a step closer towards a cashless society with GrabPay. However, according to Bank Negara, more than 80% of transactions made in Malaysia are still using cash. This has also brought about yearly handling fees of 1 billion incurred by the banking industry. Managing director of GrabPay Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore, Ooi Huey Tyng, states that the lack of cashless payment methods adoption is due to perceived inconvenience and lack of security.
With that in mind, Grab touts GrabPays a “low-entry barrier” cashless payment mode to allow greater progress toward a cashless society. It is also a cashless payment method that does not require additional apps to be downloaded.
In addition, Grab recently announced its partnership with Maybank. This points toward accessibility of GrabPay at Maybank’s QR code enabled merchants nationwide. Maybank users can choose to top up to their e-wallet directly via Maybank’s iBanking feature. Furthermore, Maybank customers will be able to earn exclusive rewards when using GrabPay.
Grab also partnered with KLIA Ekspres, Malaysia’s high-speed train service, to allow commuters to pay using GrabPay and also receive exclusive deals such as receiving promo codes for purchase of trip packages.
As Malaysians become more comfortable with cashless payment methods through GrabPay, Malaysia can most certainly be expected to continue moving towards a cashless society in the future.