When ride-hailing companies first
introduced the idea of having customers use a mobile app to call for a ride, it
did not take long for that aspect of the business to begin evolving. Such tech
companies have hit upon creating a “super app,” one that is able to perform any
business transaction for their users online, from arranging transportation to
having food and other product orders delivered. Services such as digital
payments and financial assistance are also being considered. Singaporean-based
ride-hailing company Grab has been building up their app’s multi-functionality
to get a leg up on regional rival GoJek, and they have just gotten funding to
add financial services features.
CNN Phillipines has it that Grab has lucked out on getting a
massive investment with which they can funnel into developing their primarily
ride-hailing aid into a true super app for Southeast Asia. Said investment is
to the tune of $850 million, courtesy of two Grab investors from Japan, namely Mitsubishi
UFJ Financial Group, the largest bank in the country, and the info-tech firm
TIS. This money, close to a billion dollars total, with go towards developing
digital payment and finance service features for the Grab mobile app, with the
investors also serving as co-developers.
The Singapore tech company is
going all-out on building up its prospective super app to stay one step ahead
of their only notable rival in the SEA region: GoJek, a similar ride-hailer
founded in Indonesia and based in Jakarta. The fact that GoJek already launched
ride-hailing and other online mobile services in Singapore since 2018 only
makes the matter urgent for Grab, especially as the Jakarta tech firm has its
own heavy investment backing from the likes of Visa, Google, Tencent and more.
And it remains dominant in Indonesia despite Grab’s own operational inroads there.
Financial services being offered
by Grab via their app include cash loans and consumer insurance, the usual
bread-and-butter of other dedicated apps in that corner of the finance market.
Already the Grab app has a connection to video streaming service and fellow
Singaporean company Hooq. The $850 million investment from Japan could go a
long way towards improving what Grab already has introduced last 2019.
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