Grab’s Singapore Users Can Now Use Crypto to Make Payments

• Singapore users can pay using five cryptocurrencies while using the super app Grab, The Straits Times reports.

• Grab’s latest move has been made possible after its tie-up with payments firm Triple-A.

Grab is letting users make payments via cryptocurrencies, the super app’s crypto payments partner, Triple-A, said in a statement.

The super app offers ride-hailing, food delivery and digital payments in South Asia. It is present in eight nations in the region, but the current development appears to only apply to Singapore.

“Grab has partnered with licensed payments provider Triple-A to enable users to top up their GrabPay Wallet via Digital Payment Tokens. Currently available in Singapore, Grab will continue to monitor user adoption and respond to demand for such services,” Grab said in a statement.

Users can pay using five cryptocurrencies – bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), StraitsX’s Singapore dollar-backed stablecoin XSGD, Circle’s USDC stablecoin and Tether’s USDT stablecoin.

“From arranging deliveries to booking rides or paying for coffee at their nearest shop, digital currency owners in Singapore can now use digital currencies for everyday transactions,” Triple-A said. The Strait Times first reported on the new payment option.

Grab has been involved in the Web3 space for some time now. In September 2023, Grab and Circle announced plans to conduct a pilot for a Web3 wallet within the Grab super app.

The development may come as a surprise, given Singapore’s cautious approach to crypto while welcoming innovation. Its current president, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, has previously called crypto “purely speculative” and “slightly crazy.”

UPDATE (March 19, 07:50 UTC): Adds statement from Grab.