Bangko Sentral grants e-money license to Grab

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has granted an e-money license to Grab, which will enable the ride-hailing company to provide its consumers a number of additional payment services, aside from rides and express delivery.

With the e-money license, Grab said it cann expand its mobile wallet service, GrabPay.

This would further promote cashless transactions, including bills payment, food orders, and in-store and in-restaurant purchases in the country, according to Grab.

“The Philippines has one of the highest percentages of people in Southeast Asia who do not have a bank account and who transact in cash,” Ooi Huey Tyng, Managing Director of GrabPay Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, said in a statement.

“We believe Grab, an everyday app available on 1 in 2 smartphones in the Philippines, can make a difference where other e-wallets have not been able to so far,” she added.

Tyng noted that with the support from BSP, Grab “can now help millions participate in the cashless, digital economy without the need for a bank account or to download additional apps.”

Citing statistics from BSP, Grab said “more than 98% of transactions in the Philippines still happen in cash.”

“Cash handling and services also cost millions of pesos a year to the banking industry,” it added.

The ride-hailing company also announced a number of new features in its existing payments functions for ordering rides, express delivery, and peer-to-peer credit transfer.

Starting next week Thursday, Grab users will get to experience the new Grab SuperApp interface.

The new interface will allow users to quickly access the GrabPay wallet,  an easy navigation to all Grab services and a personalized news feed.

Grab said that its app will look like this starting October 8: