Grab adds investment feature as its super app ambitions drive on

Grab already currently offers financial services through payments (GrabPay), rewards (GrabRewards) and lending (GrabFinance).

This comes after the Singapore-based app acquired Bento Invest, a Singapore-based roboadvisory start-up. Bento will be rebranded as GrabInvest with products launched on the Grab app in the first half of the year in Singapore.

GrabInvest will be a new core business vertical under Grab’s financial services arm, Grab Financial Group, led by Chandrima Das, the founder and chief executive officer of Bento.

Grab already currently offers financial services through payments (GrabPay), rewards (GrabRewards), lending (GrabFinance), and insurance (GrabInsure).

According to Grab, it hopes GrabInvest will democratise access to retail wealth management products, in order to provide millions across South East Asia with the opportunity to save and invest in financial products traditionally limited to affluent individuals and institutional investors.

It aims to do this by making wealth management services accessible by adopting a low-cost model, easy to understand by allowing users to transact on a platform they are familiar with, transparent by having full disclosures on fees with zero hidden elements, and trusted by adhering to consumer protection standards outlined by its Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Capital Markets Services (CMS) license.

“In South East Asia, there is a lack of access to affordable wealth management products and retirement planning solutions for most people. As we face an increasingly volatile and uncertain economic environment, it is imperative for Southeast Asians to acquire the tools and knowledge to protect their future by sustainably building wealth for themselves and their families,” said Reuben Lai, the senior managing director of Grab Financial Group.

“The launch of GrabInvest brings us a step closer to democratising access to affordable financial solutions that will help them achieve the financial stability they need well into their retirement years.”

Grab recently joined Singapore telco Singtel together in a coalition that will see them jointly apply for a digital banking license in Singapore.

The Singapore government announced earlier this year that it would be granting licenses to new types of banks that can innovate and compete against large brands, such as DBS, POSB, OCBC or HSBC.