Fintech: Grab Financial could disrupt banking sector

by Francisca Coker
BANKS might soon be the next taxis. Grab’s new fintech platform Grab Financial – which it launched on Tuesday – will impact and may one day disrupt the banking sector much like its ridehailing services have disrupted the taxi sector, industry players told The Business Times.

Through Grab Financial, Grab will offer loans and insurance to “millions” of consumers in South-east Asia. This new platform was unveiled by Grab chief Anthony Tan at the Money 20/20 event, and will encompass all of Grab’s fintech offerings: payment services, financial services, agent services, as well as rewards and loyalty services.

Arvind Sankaran, venture partner at venture capital firm Jungle Ventures, said: “Grab’s financial services push is targeted at the unbanked, a micro-segment which today is outside the scope of traditional players. So I don’t think it has immediate implications.

“However, it is not unreasonable to think that over time, Grab will move their focus upwards, at which point banks serving the broadest end of the mass market will begin to see some impact. What this does, however, is to intensify the arms race for hiring critical talent such as data scientists and engineers. In this regard, some banks may see some immediate impact.”
This article was originally published on httpss://www.businesstimes.com.sg.

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