GrabPay plays a visible role in how people in Singapore pay for everyday goods and services. For merchants entering the market, understanding how this wallet-based payment method works is often a prerequisite for local relevance. This guide explains what GrabPay is, where it is used, how customers pay with it, and what merchants should consider before deciding to accept GrabPay in Singapore.
What is GrabPay?
GrabPay is a digital payment method that sits within the broader Grab ecosystem. Grab started as a ride-hailing platform and has since expanded into food delivery, groceries, mobility, and everyday services. GrabPay acts as the wallet and payment layer across these services.
Core components relevant to merchants
GrabPay wallet (stored value)
Customers can maintain a stored balance inside their GrabPay wallet. This balance can be topped up using supported funding sources and then used to pay merchants directly. Wallet balance payments are common for lower and mid-value transactions where speed matters.
Linked card payments via GrabPay
Some users link debit or credit cards to their GrabPay account. In these cases, GrabPay still acts as the payment interface, while the underlying funding source is a card. For merchants, the experience remains wallet-based, with Grab handling the customer interaction.
QR-based payments (GrabPay and SGQR)
GrabPay supports QR payments, including interoperability through Singapore’s SGQR framework. This allows customers to scan a single QR code and pay using GrabPay or other supported payment methods.
Why merchants accept GrabPay in Singapore
Singapore is one of the most cashless markets in Southeast Asia. Mobile wallets are widely used for transport, food, retail, and services, particularly among urban and mobile-first consumers.
Everyday consumer usage
GrabPay is embedded in daily routines such as ride-hailing, food delivery, and in-store QR payments. This familiarity reduces friction at checkout, especially for Singaporean customers who already use the Grab app regularly.
For merchants, this means GrabPay often aligns well with:
- App-based checkout flows
- QR-led in-store payments
- Low-friction, cashless transactions
Relevance for local customer reach
Merchants targeting local Singapore customers often view GrabPay as part of a standard set of payment methods, alongside cards and PayNow.
Available market data support this positioning, with GrabPay holding 35.3% of the local e-wallet market share in Singapore and an estimated 4.9 million users in the market. For many merchants, accepting GrabPay is about meeting local expectations around payment choice.
Where GrabPay is commonly accepted
- Food and beverage: Restaurants, cafés, quick-service dining, food courts, and hawker centres, where fast, cashless checkout is expected and transaction values are typically moderate.
- Retail and convenience: Convenience stores, minimarts, lifestyle retailers, and specialty shops, including small-format and pop-up retail environments.
- Transport and mobility: Ride-hailing, taxi fares, and last-mile delivery services, reflecting GrabPay’s origins within the Grab mobility ecosystem.
- Lifestyle and everyday services: Beauty and wellness providers, fitness studios, gyms, and personal services supporting GrabPay as a simple wallet-based payment option for repeat local customers.
- Digital services and on-demand platforms: App-based services, one-time digital purchases, and usage-based offerings, where customers prefer mobile payments without committing to long-term billing.
- Tourism and local attractions: Attractions, ticketing providers, and leisure experiences, particularly in settings where mobile-led entry and QR-based payments are common.
For global merchants, these categories help indicate whether GrabPay aligns with your typical transaction size and customer behaviour.
How customers pay with GrabPay
Understanding the customer payment flow helps merchants design smoother checkout and in-store experiences.
Funding sources from the customer side
Customers typically fund GrabPay payments through a combination of wallet balance and linked cards. Some users maintain a stored balance in their GrabPay wallet and pay directly from this balance, while others link debit or credit cards to their Grab account and use those cards as the underlying funding source.
In all cases, the selection and management of the funding source happens inside the Grab app, rather than at the merchant level.
In-store payments
A typical in-store GrabPay flow looks like this:
- The customer opens the Grab app
- Scans the merchant QR code
- Enters or confirms the payment amount
- Confirms the payment in the app
- The merchant receives confirmation
This flow is designed to be fast and does not require physical cards or cash handling.
Online payments
- The customer selects GrabPay at checkout
- They are redirected to the Grab app or a hosted authorisation page
- Confirms the payment
- The customer is returned to the merchant site or app after confirmation
From the customer’s point of view, the experience remains consistent with other GrabPay use cases.
Where GrabPay fits into Singapore’s payment ecosystem
Singapore’s payment ecosystem includes multiple domestic and wallet-based options. GrabPay operates alongside these rather than replacing them.
The role of SGQR
SGQR is a national initiative in Singapore that standardises QR codes across multiple payment methods into a single, interoperable format. Instead of displaying different QR codes for each provider, merchants can present one SGQR code that customers scan using their preferred app.
From there, customers can complete payments using options such as GrabPay, PayNow, NETS, or other participating wallets, depending on what they have set up.
For merchants, SGQR simplifies in-store operations and reduces visual clutter at the point of sale. It also makes it easier to support a mix of local payment methods without managing separate QR workflows, which is particularly helpful in environments like food and beverage, retail, and small-format stores where speed and clarity matter.
Parallel payment methods
GrabPay typically sits alongside:
- PayNow for bank-based real-time payments
- NETS for domestic debit payments
- Card payments for international and higher-value transactions
- Other mobile wallets used by specific customer segments
Most Singapore merchants support several payment methods at once, recognising that no single option covers every use case.
How merchants can accept GrabPay
Merchants generally have three routes to accepting GrabPay, depending on size, geography, and internal resources.
Accept GrabPay via a payment service provider (PSP)
This is the most common option for global merchants.
Typical advantages include:
- Faster onboarding
- A single integration covering multiple payment methods
- Unified reporting and settlement
- Reduced compliance and operational overhead
When evaluating a PSP, merchants usually confirm which GrabPay products are supported, such as wallet payments, QR payments, or PayLater, as well as whether acceptance is available online, in-store, or across both environments. They also review practical settlement details, including payout currency, timing, and the structure of reporting, to make sure the setup aligns with their finance and operations processes.
Direct integration with GrabPay
Large merchants with in-house payments teams may integrate directly using APIs or hosted checkout options.
Key considerations include:
- Redirect and authorisation handling
- Webhook setup and payment status updates
- Internal reconciliation and customer support processes
This route offers control but requires greater operational investment.
Accept GrabPay in-store via QR and POS
Physical merchants often accept GrabPay through QR-based solutions provided by Grab or supported POS systems. These setups commonly bundle GrabPay, PayNow, and other SGQR-supported payment methods.
This approach suits food and beverage, retail, and service environments where speed is critical.
How to add GrabPay as a payment method
- Choose a payment partner or PSP. Merchants usually start by selecting a payment partner or PSP that supports GrabPay in Singapore. At this stage, teams review onboarding requirements, commercial terms, payout timing, and reporting structures to confirm that GrabPay can be added without creating friction for finance or operations.
- Define your acceptance setup. The next step is deciding how GrabPay will be offered across the business. This typically includes whether acceptance is required online, in-store, or across both environments, and whether GrabPay will be used strictly for one-time payments or extended to PayLater where available.
- Implement the payment flow. Once the setup is defined, merchants implement the GrabPay payment flow. This involves configuring redirect behaviour for online checkouts, handling success, failure, and pending payment states, and setting up webhooks or timeout logic so payment status updates are reflected accurately in internal systems.
- Set up operational processes. After implementation, merchants prepare internal processes. This includes setting up reconciliation and settlement tracking, aligning refund handling with customer support teams, and mapping GrabPay transactions into finance and accounting workflows so reporting remains consistent.
- Test and launch. Before going live, merchants test and validate the full payment journey. This usually includes testing cancellations, timeouts, and partial refunds, as well as reviewing the end-to-end customer experience to confirm that GrabPay works smoothly alongside other payment methods.
GrabPay: What merchants should consider
Wallet and transaction limits
Wallet balance limits and transaction caps can affect higher-value purchases.
Differences from card payments
Compared with card payments:
- Chargeback mechanisms are limited or unavailable
- Refunds are usually managed directly by the merchant
- Dispute handling follows wallet-specific processes
Recurring billing and subscriptions
- Many GrabPay setups focus on one-time payments
- Subscription support varies by product and provider
- Merchants should confirm recurring payment capabilities early
Refund timing
Refunds may follow defined cutoffs and processing windows, which can differ from card-based expectations.
Conclusion
GrabPay has established itself as a widely used digital payment method in Singapore, particularly for mobile-first and everyday transactions. For merchants serving Singaporean customers, it often forms part of a wider local payment mix rather than a standalone solution.
If you are looking to manage multiple local payment methods across markets, providers such as Antom can support GrabPay acceptance alongside other regional options, depending on your needs and scale.
