April 24, 2018, Manila Philippines — GrabPay, the mobile wallet of Southeast Asia’s leading super app Grab, gears up to become one of the largest and most rewarding everyday mobile wallets in the Philippines this year. Grab today announced the next step in its partnership with SM Investments Corporation (SMIC), one of the leading conglomerates in the retail, banking, and property industries in the Philippines, by introducing GrabPay to moviegoers of SM Cinemas. GrabPay will further expand across the SM Group’s diverse network nationwide as well as Grab’s everyday services such as GrabFood, putting the e-wallet on track to be the Philippines’ largest and most rewarding everyday mobile wallet by year end.

With GrabPay, purchasing cinema tickets is as easy as 1-2-3: scan the QR code available in SM cinema ticketing booths, enter the amount, and tap pay. This removes the hassle of counting cash, rummaging for coins, and tracking the money in your wallet. GrabPay is rolling out in all SM cinemas in Metro Manila and Cebu this April and will be available nationwide by the end of 2019. Select SM Cinema kiosks will also offer exclusive GrabPay snacks and drinks to GrabPay users.

GrabPay will also be available online through the SM Cinema website to let users to purchase their movie tickets in advance. To use the service, they simply have to go to the SM Cinema website, select ticket orders, and choose GrabPay at checkout. This makes it more convenient for consumers that want to secure the best seats without lining up for tickets.

“The Philippines is ripening for a digital payments revolution. In the Philippines, we are seeing consistent increase in our GrabPay user base, with a 130% growth from the first quarter of 2018 to present.  As the leading super app in Southeast Asia, we are excited to take our innovative mobile wallet GrabPay outside of the Grab app and bring it closer to the everyday lives of Filipinos, starting with SM Cinema,” GrabPay Managing Director for Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines Ooi Huey Tyng said.

“We have always strived to provide our patrons with the best cinema experience in the country, and we continuously invest in new technologies to further improve our services. With a shared vision of creating meaningful and better experiences for our consumers, partnering with Grab to elevate the SM Cinema experience from ticketing to watching films will help us achieve our goal,” SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. Senior Assistant Vice President for Ad and Corporate Sales Maria Isabel “Belay” Santillian said.

GrabPay first entered into a strategic partnership with SMIC in November 2018 to jointly develop products and services that will promote cashless transactions across the Philippines. GrabPay and SMIC’s partnership aims to open up opportunities to take more Filipinos into a more cashless society. This involves the integration of GrabPay with the different companies of the SM group.

Aside from QR and online payment integration at SM Cinemas, GrabPay will soon be available at SM supermarkets and shops in SM malls in Metro Manila.  By the end of 2019, GrabPay can be used to pay for transactions at thousands of merchant partners nationwide. Aside from being used to purchase products, the partnership between the two groups will also allow consumers to top-up their GrabPay wallets across the SM network, including BDO accounts, SM Business Centers, 2GO, and many others. Consumers can also expect better benefits such as dedicated Green Lanes for GrabPay users in SM establishments. These are express checkout counters that will allow GrabPay users to skip the regular payment queues.

The wide user base of Grab and the nationwide reach of SM is an ideal combination that will drive more cashless transactions in the Philippines, supporting the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) goal of migrating 20 percent of the total transactions into non-cash means by 2020.

Regionally, GrabPay is supporting the cashless revolution by empowering over 600,000 online and offline merchants across Southeast Asia, cutting across different payment methods through its partnerships with different financial institutions.

Rewarding mobile wallet integrates into GrabFood and more services

Aside from this, Grab announced that GrabPay will also be integrated into GrabFood by second quarter of 2019 for faster and more seamless food ordering experience within the Grab app.

“Through consumer feedback, we have decided to introduce GrabPay as an alternative mode of payment for GrabFood orders. This will not only help us in building the Philippine digital economy, but will also benefit our consumers through better user experience,” Grab Philippines President Brian Cu said.

Within the year, services such as bills payments, prepaid cards, shopping with points and pay later will also be integrated. GrabPay effectively connects Grab’s super app services in one ecosystem to become consumers’ go-to digital wallet for everyday services.

GrabPay is also the only mobile wallet in the Philippines to offer rewards and loyalty points to consumers. As the most rewarding mobile wallet in PH, soon, every transaction done within and outside of the Grab app using GrabPay will earn them at least double GrabRewards points. These points can be used to redeem transport vouchers and other rewards across Grab’s wide network of partners in Southeast Asia.  

“Today, our users use GrabPay for their transport needs, load top-ups, and parcel services. With the introduction of our partnership with SM and the integration of GrabPay into GrabFood and other services, we expect to continue our user growth trajectory this 2019,” Cu said.

GrabPay remains open to entering into more strategic partnerships with different merchants, retailers, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) this year to further expand its QR service, and promote the use of digital payments in the Philippines.

###