Singaporean ride-hailing and tech giant Grab is set to launch a micro-investment and loan platform called AutoInvest in early September, according to a statement, which will be managed by the company’s financial services arm, Grab Financial Group.
The feature has been hinted ever since the company acquired robo-advisory mutual-fund platform Bento back in February. Grab users in Singapore can use the app to invest with sums as low as SGD 1 (USD 0.73), where the money is put into fixed-income funds offered by Fullerton Fund Management and UOB Asset Management. The return is estimated 1.8% per annum and will be cashed out to users’ GrabPay wallet, which can be withdrawn anytime.
Clients can use the sum to pay for Grab services or transactions at any merchant accepting the GrabPay Card.
“By offering innovative micro-transaction-based financial services, convenient financial management tools and access to products from leading global financial institutions, we hope to unlock the tremendous potential in financial services in the region in ways that serve all Southeast Asians,” said Grab Financial Group’s Senior Managing Director Reuben Lai.
As for the micro-loan platform, users will be connected to personal loan offers from Grab’s licensed bank partners and can apply directly from Grab’s app. The loan service has been available in Indonesia earlier, in partnership with e-wallet Ovo, which is backed by Grab.
The company also plans for a pay-later product on selected e-commerce in Singapore and Malaysia in October. Eligible users will be able to shop online and pay in interest-free monthly installments or postpone their payment to the following month.
GFG will also roll out its first hospitalization insurance plan for Indonesian users in the coming months.
The massive expansion in financial products came shortly after Bloomberg reported that Grab just raised USD 200 billion from South Korean private equity firm Stic Investments. A Grab spokesperson declined to comment on this matter to KrASIA.