Wirecard Inks Payments Partnership With Grab in SE Asia

Financial technology firm Wirecard is forming a payments partnership with Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading super app, in a move that will see the two firms collaborate in the Malaysian, the Philippines, and the Singapore markets.

In a statement, Wirecard said it would process transactions made via the GrabPay e-wallet in those markets and integrate it as a payment method for merchants.

The firm said it will process card transactions via its digital financial commerce platform and will extend GrabPay to more merchants to expand the acceptance of the mobile payment method.

Consumers can use their GrabPay e-wallet to pay for transactions online and offline, for example for ride-hailing or food delivery, but can also use it to pay for purchases on e-commerce sites or at physical stores, Wirecard added.

The GrabPay e-wallet is one of the most popular e-wallets in Southeast Asia accepted by over 600,000 merchants and small businesses.

“Together, we aim to continue disrupting the payment, tech and mobility industries with innovative solutions that can improve the lives of millions,” said Georg von Waldenfels, Executive Vice President Group Business Development at Wirecard.

The partnership comes as a recent global survey conducted by Wirecard showed that over 90 percent of consumers in Southeast Asia had used digital payments both in-store and online.

Mobile wallets are almost twice as popular in the region as they are worldwide, with 44 percent regularly choosing them as a payment method compared to the global average of 25 percent, the survey showed.

“Wirecard’s innovative mobile payment solutions will not only complement our GrabPay e-wallet platform but also offer businesses and consumers the opportunity to transact with greater security, convenience, and flexibility,” said Reuben Lai, Senior Managing Director of Grab Financial Group.

Grab earlier announced that it had acquired robo-advisory startup Bento Invest for an undisclosed amount, with plans to rebrand it to GrabInvest.

Grab said the acquisition would allow it to offer retail wealth management solutions to users, driver-partners, and merchant-partners, via the Grab app as part of its efforts to become a super app in the region.