Grab, a mobile platform in Southeast Asia, gave a preview of its remittance product on Thursday, bringing it closer to being a preferred e-wallet in Southeast Asia.
Grab, the region's ride-hailing giant, will launch a cross-border remittance product early next year. As the region’s first wallet-to-wallet remittance product, the Grab remittance product will allow both banked and unbanked senders to remit money instantly and securely to receivers in another country, using their GrabPay wallets.
«We saw the painful process that consumers go through each time they want to send money across the borders and thought we could make a difference there. Our wallet-to-wallet remittance product will be the first to guarantee the speed, security and ease-of-use which Southeast Asia’s growing middle class really needs,» said Reuben Lai, senior managing director of Grab Financial.
Tapping the Region's Remittance Market
Southeast Asia’s remittance market was estimated to be worth $70 billion in 2017, according to figures from the World Bank Group. This market is currently dominated by incumbent Money Transfer Operators and financial institutions, but many of the region's foreign workers continue to rely on unlicensed agents.
Besides the opaque and expensive pricing structures, established remittance players also have inefficient delivery operations, resulting in money and time lost during the process.
Solving Pain Points
Currently, pain points faced by senders and receivers of money in the region include limited visibility of fund movements, high transfer fees, and barriers to spending the cash that is being transferred.
«With most bank to bank transfers, recipients – the unbanked in particular – have to withdraw the funds in cash. With the GrabPay wallet, recipients can immediately access the transferred funds to pay for online and offline everyday services. For those who prefer cash, Grab will also offer a full range of cash-out options for recipients,» said Lai.
One-Time Onboarding Process
Other unique features of the remittance product is the one-time onboarding process done in-app, and the guaranteed end-to-end transfer of funds from sender to receiver as Grab takes ownership of the funds movement.
