Grab expands payment options with stablecoin top-ups, driving new user growth

Meet Grab

Grab is Southeast Asia’s leading superapp offering ride-hailing, food delivery, financial services, and more across 8 countries with 50 million monthly transacting users. A key feature of Grab is GrabPay, the platform’s mobile e-wallet solution, which allows businesses on the Grab platform to accept cashless payments. With a well-diversified platform and customer base, Grab understands the importance of allowing customers to top-up their Grab wallet through their preferred payment methods that can work across borders.

The Challenge: Finding the Right Solution for Stablecoin Payments

As of 2024, global crypto ownership had reached 562 million people. Singapore specifically led the way toward widespread crypto adoption in the Asia-Pacific region, accounting for roughly US$627 million in total cryptocurrency funding. Grab understood that stablecoin payments were a rapidly growing payment method in Southeast Asia. However, unlocking this untapped market meant finding the right provider. Specifically, Grab needed a partner who could offer three key benefits.

Efficient, white-labeled stablecoin payment gateway

Integrating a stablecoin payment gateway was a top priority for Grab, as crypto-based payments would not be possible without it. Investing in building their own stablecoin checkout was expensive and time-consuming, and using a provider that lacked a flexible API and interface was not viable.

Digital currency conversions

Storing and converting digital currencies to local currencies can be a complicated process, requiring strong technical knowledge of blockchain technology and digital currency wallets. Grab needed a partner that offered conversion services, since holding stablecoins on their own books would need new teams, processes, and regulatory compliance.

Regulatory compliance

Digital currencies present complex regulatory challenges that vary by region. To keep its payment system as simple as possible, Grab needed a partner that could handle the regulatory side of stablecoin payments on their behalf.

The Solution: Why Grab Chose Triple-A for Digital Wallet Stablecoin Top-Ups

After researching the market for different stablecoin payment solutions, Grab chose to partner with Triple-A, a payment firm offering digital currency payments and payouts. Triple-A acts as a middle-man for all stablecoin-based transactions on Grab and handles the necessary currency conversions. Through its partnership with Triple-A, Grab can now accept digital currency payments and crypto top-ups in BTC, ETH, USDC, and USDT. Triple-A met all requirements. 

Flexible, white-labeled checkout

Triple-A provided APIs that could be integrated into Grab’s existing payment setup. This lets Grab build a user experience familiar to their 50 million customers, while enabling seamless stablecoin payments. Once the user selects a digital currency, Triple-A facilitates the entire transaction, from wallet infrastructure to the blockchain and transaction monitoring. This white-labeled checkout let Grab leverage its trusted brand to achieve a high-conversion stablecoin checkout.

Singapore Dollar (SGD) settlement

Grab showed users top-up amounts in SGD, and received SGD amounts as well. Triple-A manages real-time currency conversions from digital to local currency at locked exchange rates, resulting in zero volatility risk for users and Grab. The funds get settled to Grab’s bank account the day after the transaction.

Licensed and compliant

Triple-A holds a Major Payment Institution license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore with a provision for Digital Payment Token Service. This ensured that Triple-A was sufficiently licensed to process stablecoin payments and settle Grab in SGD. Triple-A also provides robust blockchain wallet, Know-Your-Customer, and sanction-list screenings and monitoring, keeping in line with international Travel Rule compliance rules. 

Additional benefits Grab realized through its partnership with Triple-A include:

• Greater cost savings and zero chargeback fraud
• Increased margins via lower transaction fees
• Access to 560+ million digital currency owners

The Results

Grab stablecoin top-up adoption grew month on month, doubling in volume in 6 months. Visitors to Singapore from Grab’s operating countries could seamlessly use the app without converting their local currency to SGD. Global visitors could also avail Grab services while avoiding high FX fees charged by international credit cards. Grab successfully tapped into unlocked volumes that existing and potential users were storing in stablecoins, and the integration has now expanded from Singapore to Philippines. 

Practical Steps for Implementing Stablecoin Top-Ups at Your Business

Like Grab, many businesses seek to implement stablecoin payment solutions to access a wider range of customers. If your company is considering adding stablecoin top-ups to your payment mix, make sure to follow these three vital steps for implementing stablecoin-based payments:

• Choose a Reliable Stablecoin Payment Gateway: Select a licensed, reputable digital currency payment gateway, such as Triple-A. Triple-A is licensed as a Major Payment Institution (MPI) by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
• Prioritize Simple Regulatory Compliance: Adherence to local and international digital currency regulations is of the utmost importance when introducing stablecoins into your payment ecosystem. Look for providers that understand the specific digital currency regulations in your region.
• Facilitate Customer Education: As you begin introducing stablecoin payments to your customers, ensure you have a clear strategy in place for educating them on how to use stablecoin top-ups. Be sure to include e-wallet best practices that address relevant security concerns for customers holding stablecoins in a digital wallet. 

Ready to expand your payment options with stablecoin top-ups? Speak with our team to discover how we can help you reach new users and markets.