The usage of virtual payments in Singapore has been on the rise, thanks to the quick adoption of technology by the government as well as Singaporeans. Amongst various payments methods GrabPay has certainly been on the rise. GrabPay actually offers GrabPay cards as well and this leads us to the question on the differences between GrabPay vs GrabPay card.
What is GrabPay
GrabPay offered by grab.com is a virtual wallet where one can store funds and link this wallet to a bank account. When paying at a counter or a business that accepts GrabPay, you use the app to deduct the funds from your wallet or the bank account linked to it.
GrabPay wallet is available in Singapore for activation only to users older than 16 years old and are residents in Singapore i.e., Singapore citizens, Permanent residents and Pass holders (e.g., Employment Pass, S Pass, Work Permit, Student Pass, or Dependant’s Pass).
What is GrabPay Card
GrabPay card on the other hand is card offered by Grab.com, which can be linked to your wallet. This card can then be used to pay using your GrabPay wallet worldwide. At the time of producing this article, GrabPay Card follows Mastercard protocols, thus GrabPay card can be used at all outlets who accept MasterCard.
Difference between GrabPay and GrabPay Card
To summarise it quickly, GrabPay is a virtual wallet that can be used at merchants that accept GrabPay. On the other hand GrabPay card is a virtual card that is linked to your GrabPay wallet and can be used at merchants that accept cards like Master card.
GrabPay card is however a number less physical card. The details are stored in the Grab app for enhanced security and no card number is printed on the physical card.
Is GrabPay Card like any other credit card
Other credit cards offer you credit, however GrabPay cards are linked to your GrabPay wallet.
GrabPay card is also Asia’s first numberless Physical card, meaning the card numbers are not present on the card. These details are in the GrabApp. This provides security so one need not worry if one looses the physical card.
GrabPay card can be used just like any other card to make in store payments (using Grab wallet balance). The card can also be used for payments by physically entering the card in the payment terminals.
Grab Pay card can also be used for MRT/Bus rides in Singapore.
What are the benefits of using GrabPay card over other cards
GrabPay card is an attempt from Grab to provide users a card that can be linked to Grab wallet and used at outlets that accepts cards other than GrabPay. Thus if you have GrabPay wallet, but want to transact at a terminal where wallet can’t be used-the card may come to rescue. Grab also markets this card with the below benefits.
- Enhanced security due to numberless physical card: Since the physical version of this card does not have the numbers printed on them, one has enhanced security over misuse if the card is stolen or lost.
- Grab is currently offering Grab Reward points when one uses this card. These points then can be redeemed with various offers in the Grab app.
- Grab is offering complimentary mobile phone protection coverage when one uses this Grab Pay card to pay monthly mobile phone bills.
- One enjoys complimentary e-commerce purchase protection for items purchased online using the GrabPay card
- Users get complimentary lounge access for delayed flights.
- Using the GrabPay wallet, one can top the amount and set a budget or a limit of amount to spend using your GrabPay card. That way one can follow strict budgeting and spending control.
- Other benefits like real time notifications and monitoring of spends is also helpful.
Overseas usage of GrabPay card.
GrabPay card can certainly be used for purchases overseas using the GrabPay balance in your wallet.
Here are few details Grab shares about using the card overseas.
- GrabPay card can be used overseas using the Physical card as long as the store accepts Mastercard. In such cases the Singapore dollar will be converted to local currency at then prevailing Master Currency Conversion rates. However there’s also an extra 2% foreign currency conversion fee applied.
- All GrabPay cards supports overseas usage by default, thus one need not ‘enable’ it before flying.
- GrabPay card can also be used to withdraw cash in overseas ATM that accepts MasterCard, Maestro or Cirrus logo cards.The PIN to use at the ATM will be the Grab PIN one uses to view digital card details. ATM withdrawals do have S$5 withdrawal fee charges.
How to get a GrabPay card
Once one has verified all the Identification details for being a resident in Singapore, one can proceed to check the GrabPay card in the Grab app.
To begin with one can get the digital GrabPay card quickly by tapping ‘Get GrabPay card now’ under Payments. Digital GrabPay card is non physical and can be used for online payment, payment for overseas Grab services using GrabPay app and the digital card also be added to Payment services like Samsung Pay.
One may request a physical card by tapping the “Request Physical card” under GrabPay card. Once the mailing address is confirmed, one can receive the actual physical card by 7 to 10 working days.
As Grab is still rolling out GrabPay card in batches at the time of writing this article, not all users will see the option to request a Physical GrabPay card. In that case you may register your interest to sign up for the physical card.
Hope this is helpful for our readers to understand the differences between GrabPay and GrabPay cards : ) To know more about various other virtual payment services available in Singapore check our guide to cashless payments in Singapore For other types of virtual credit cards available in Singapore, check our guide here.
