Grab, an Online-to-Offline mobile platform in Southeast Asia, unveiled its remittance offering, witnessed by Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Grab's remittance product was unweiled at the 33rd ASEAN Summit this week. This marks a significant milestone towards Grab’s vision for one ASEAN e-wallet that will deepen financial inclusion for the region’s growing middle class consumers and micro-entrepreneurs, the company said in a statement.
«Inter-operable real time regional payment systems will expand opportunities, especially for citizens and small businesses, to access products and services across ASEAN,» said Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore Minister for Forein Affairs.
Opaque and Expensive Pricing
Southeast Asia’s remittance market is estimated to be worth at least $70 billion. This market is currently dominated by incumbent Money Transfer Operators (MTO) and financial institutions, but many of the economically-vulnerable foreign workers that comprise one of its most active user groups continue to be reliant on unlicensed agents.
The industry still suffers from opaque and expensive pricing structures coupled with inefficient delivery operations, which result in a sub-optimal user experience, and vast sums lost and unaccounted for in this process.
Instantly and Securely
As the region’s first wallet-to-wallet remittance product, 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.
As opposed to existing options in the market, receivers can access transferred funds instantaneously. In addition, receivers can either choose to cash out the remitted sum via the regular network of cash-out points or use it on everyday transactions, ranging from bill payments to mobile airtime top-ups.
Less Payment Friction
«Besides serving the growing economic migrant community within Southeast Asia, this remittance product will also pave the way for a multi-currency ASEAN-travel wallet that will significantly reduce the payment friction for intra-ASEAN tourism and business travel while enhancing cross-border e-commerce opportunities,» Reuben Lai, Senior Managing Director, Grab Financial said.
«We believe this product will be a game-changer for millions of unbanked or underserved individuals across Southeast Asia,» he added. Grab Financial’s remittance product will be launched in early 2019.
