Grab secures e-money license in the Philippines

Ride-hailing company Grab is expanding its mobile wallet services in the Philippines following receipt of an e-money license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Statistics from the central bank revealed that more than 98% of transactions in the Philippines still happen in cash, whereas 86% of people remain unbanked. Cash handling and services also cost millions of pesos a year to the banking industry.

Besides its existing payments functions for ordering rides, express delivery and peer-to-peer credit transfer, Grab will soon be able to order food, pay their bills and purchases from their favorite stores and restaurants.

As with rides, new services may help customers earn points with its GrabRewards loyalty program, with offers from partners such as SM Cinema, Cebu Pacific flights, McDonalds or Globe prepaid.

The GrabPay mobile wallet built into the Grab app is designed to offer a low-entry barrier to secure cashless payment options for both consumers and merchants.

The first feature to be launched by Grab under the e-money license will be the option to top-up prepaid load from the Grab app. Users in the Philippines who wish to top up their prepaid load, can tap the ‘Load Now’ bar below the GrabPay mobile wallet bar alongside other features including send, request and top up wallet.

After entering the phone number to be topped up, they can select their top-up product. The request is sent to the telco service provider and receipt provided.