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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
For global merchants, these categories help indicate whether GrabPay aligns with your typical transaction size and customer behaviour.
Understanding the customer payment flow helps merchants design smoother checkout and in-store experiences.
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.
A typical in-store GrabPay flow looks like this:
This flow is designed to be fast and does not require physical cards or cash handling.
From the customer’s point of view, the experience remains consistent with other GrabPay use cases.
Singapore’s payment ecosystem includes multiple domestic and wallet-based options. GrabPay operates alongside these rather than replacing them.
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.
GrabPay typically sits alongside:
Most Singapore merchants support several payment methods at once, recognising that no single option covers every use case.
Merchants generally have three routes to accepting GrabPay, depending on size, geography, and internal resources.
This is the most common option for global merchants.
Typical advantages include:
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.
Large merchants with in-house payments teams may integrate directly using APIs or hosted checkout options.
Key considerations include:
This route offers control but requires greater operational investment.
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.
Wallet balance limits and transaction caps can affect higher-value purchases.
Compared with card payments:
Refunds may follow defined cutoffs and processing windows, which can differ from card-based expectations.
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.