ISG-Global: Citigroup To Partner With Asia’s Grab

2026-08-13 08:22:35 Business

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ISG-Global: US bank to tie-up with leading Asian ride-hailing app, Grab.
ISG Global: Citigroup, one of the world?s largest banking groups is entering a partnership with one of Asian?s most successful startups, Singapore-based ride-hailing app, Grab. The bank?s initiative is designed to tap into the large networks of customers amassed by ride-hailing apps in Southeast Asia with a view to encouraging use of its credit cards to collect points and pay for rides.
The bank is also trying to improve customer acquisition through digital channels which is increasingly replacing more traditional methods in Asia like sales stalls at shopping malls.
Grab has operations in six Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia and Thailand and has raised $700 million since its inception in 2012. Ride-hailing apps have become increasingly popular in the region much of which suffers from chronic road overcrowding and excessive traffic but, recently, they have begun to expand beyond providing core transport services and have branched out into mobile wallets and food delivery services.
?This will be the first time that Citi has sought to integrate its credit cards with any app that has a focus on transport and Grab is an excellent match,? said Kit Morton, chief economist at ISG-Global.
?Citi tends to target more affluent customers in Asia with a view to offering them wealth management services, a sector which is far less saturated than in advanced economies.?
The partnership is due to be launched in September.
ISG-Global welcomed the decision to partner with Grab rather than its main competitor in the region Uber which it believes loses competitiveness on price grounds compared to Grab.

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