Grab Adds New Features, Services

Grab, is starting to evolve from a mere ride-hailing app to an everyday super app.

Following its seventh year milestone in the country, Grab has placed numerous features and services within its app to elevate the overall Grab experience in the Philippines.

"As an everyday super app, Grab strives to provide the best solutions to the everyday needs of Filipino consumers, bringing them closer to things that matter to them. Through constant innovation and evolution, we are turning our super app vision into a more concrete reality. Soon, Grab users can use the Grab platform for more services that help them meet their daily needs," Grab Philippines President Brian Cu said.

Improving mobility, logistics

Within the year, Grab will be pilot-testing Bus Marketplace, a service that will see Grab partnering with bus operators and shipping lines in Metro Manila to provide an on-demand ticket booking system for bus rides and ferry rides. Through Bus Marketplace, users will be able to discover and book bus and ferry services that best fit their journey with timely updates on routes, time, and date.

To enable GrabExpress in offering intercity parcel delivery, Grab has likewise struck a regional partnership with tech-enabled express logistics company Ninja Van to bring the latter's logistics services into the Grab app via GrabExpress, Grab's on-demand parcel, and courier delivery service.

"We started out as a transport app the only wanted to provide a solution to the growing problem of mobility in the region. Seven years later, we are now the region's leading super app offering different services to our consumers. But being loyal to our roots, we will continue to develop new ways to improve transportation and logistics in the Philippines," Cu said.

Upgrading the digital lifestyle

Grab is also introducing new features that will help upgrade the digital lifestyle of Filipino Grab users.

This year, users will be able to stream on-demand video content through its partnership with HOOQ, a leading Southeast Asian video-streaming provider that has over 10,000 hours of content under its belt. This is the first of its kind integration between a regional digital platform and a leading over-the-top service provider (online video streaming) in Southeast Asia and represents a hockey-stick moment for both digital services and online video in this region.

Likewise, Grab users will be able to use the app to book for their movie tickets in advance through the soon-to-be-launched Tickets service tile powered by its partnership with SM Cinemas

Just a few weeks ago, Grab introduced the new Hotel tile, which allows Grab users to book their accommodations for their holidays from Agoda and Booking.com through the Grab app.

Financial technology development

Aside from this, Grab users will soon have access to GrabBillsPay, a solution that allows GrabPay account holders to use their digital wallets to pay for utility bills. This will provide greater convenience to Filipinos who usually pay their bills physically.

Likewise, through its partnership with the SM Group--the largest retail, banking, and property conglomerate in the Philippines--Grab is bringing GrabPay outside of the Grab app and into the SM Group’s wide portfolio of merchants. The partnership will see Grab's QR code payments solution being deployed across the merchant partner of the SM Group within the year.

Grab is also foraying into more digital financial services through GrabFinancial. It will soon offer services that are tailor-fit to the needs of Filipinos who previously had no access to formal financial tools, helping the government realize its goal of increasing financial inclusion in the Philippines.

Currently, Grab is securing necessary documents to introduce Grab Insurance, a digital insurance platform that allows drivers to purchase insurance, view their policies, and make claims online without being physically present in insurance offices.

It is also in the process of creating Grab Remittance, a cross-border money remittance service that will allow Grab users to share money through their GrabPay wallets even if they are in different countries in the region; and a multi-currency wallet that will allow GrabPay to accommodate different currencies in the Asean region.

To further is a vision as the largest digital finance provider in Southeast Asia, Grab has collaborated with Citi and Mastercard to improve its financial services in the region. Its partnership with Mastercard, to be more specific, involves the launch of a prepaid card linked to GrabPay within this year.

Strengthened partnerships

In realizing this mission throughout the years, Grab struck these meaningful partnerships with different companies and groups to bring it a step closer to its goal of creating smart cities that are connected via a single mobile app.

"We are building our super app vision through partnerships, and this was a decision that we made right at the very beginning. We recognize that Grab would only be limited on what we do best, but there are that could provide best in class services, making partnerships necessary for us to realize our vision of becoming the region’s largest super app," Cu said.

Biggest celebration

Through partnerships, Grab is also celebrating its seventh year by providing consumers with delightful treats from its merchant partners such as 7-11, Jollibee, the SM Group, Lazada, and Max's, among others.

Grab has prepared a two-week long celebration for its seventh birthday with promos ranging from PHP77 discounts for GrabCar, PHP777 cashback for GrabPay, PHP7 Grab bundles, and more!

It will also hold a raffle for its 7 Grab Anniversary Gifts, wherein seven lucky winners per day for seven days will receive gift certificates worth up to P10,000 from Grab's partners.

But the biggest among its many promotions for its seventh birthday is the awarding of seven raffle winners with 1 million GrabRewards Points each. Grab is also giving away 50,000 GrabRewards Points as consolation prizes to seven Grab users.

"Sharing the love has always been at the core of Grab, and as we celebrate our seventh year in business, we want to give back to Filipino consumers who helped us reach where we are right now--the leading everyday super app in the Philippines and the greater Southeast Asia," Cu said.