Grab offering Early Access to GrabPay Mastercard - Use Singapore GrabPay Balance throughout Southeast Asia
As you may have already noticed, Grab has recently partnered up with GovTech for MyInfo integration - according to Grab, "GrabPay users can enjoy seamless in-app user verification and unlock a more powerful e-wallet". Now you may probably ask, what exactly is a more powerful e-wallet and that is a difficult question to answer but apparently some users have been targeted with early access to the GrabPay Mastercard.
Photo Credit: Grab
There is no official information regarding the GrabPay Card (or GrabPay Mastercard) in Singapore at the time of writing but we do know that Grab and Citi will be issuing co-branded credit cards in the region, starting with the Philippines. According to the screen grab from a Grab message that a friend has received, the brand new digital banking offer with Mastercard allows the user to use their Singapore GrabPay balance to pay for Grab rides throughout Southeast Asia without incurring transaction and FX fees.
Photo Credit: Grab
Allowing users to use an SGD balance across countries is certainly a great improvement although it really depends on what the exchange rate between currencies look like. At the end of the day, most Grab rides probably average out to be approximately SGD 10 so we are really talking about just SGD 0.30 credit card fees per ride (which is not much really!). I am personally quite interested to see whether GrabPay can successfully evolve to become something dominant in the market (e.g. WeChat Wallet in China).
Photo Credit: Grab
Nature lovers and luxury seekers, mark your calendars — April 2025 will witness the grand opening of the Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree. Set amidst the breathtaking 126-hectare Mandai Wildlife Reserve in northern Singapore, this resort represents a significant milestone as Banyan Tree Group’s first-ever property in its home country.