Financial commerce technology provider Wirecard announced today it has partnered with Grab, a super app based in Southeast Asia that provides users with everyday services including on-demand transportation and food delivery.
Under the partnership Wirecard will process transactions made using Grab’s ewallet GrabPay in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.
Grabpay, which is accepted by 600,000+ merchants, works for both online and brick and mortar transactions. Along with payment processing, Wirecard will help introduce Grabpay to more merchants, expanding acceptance across Southeast Asia.
While mobile payment functionality may not be impressive to U.S. users, keep in mind that mobile wallets are much more popular in Asia. In fact, mobile wallets are almost 2x more popular in Southeast Asia than they are worldwide. Among consumers in the region, 44% regularly choose their mobile wallet as a payment method. In comparison, the global average mobile wallet usage is 25%.
Senior Managing Director of Grab Financial Group Reuben Lai explained that Wirecard will help the company build a cashless economy for millions of businesses across Southeast Asia. “Wirecard’s innovative mobile payments 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,” he said.
Today’s announcement comes just days after Wirecard partnered with another player in the gig economy. Earlier this month the Germany-based company partnered with Xolo to offer more robust financial tools to entrepreneurs and micro-businesses.