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STB partners Grab to provide more e-payment options for tourists

SINGAPORE ― Tourists visiting the Republic can expect to go cashless at more destinations across the island, as part of a new tie-up between the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and ride-hailing firm Grab.

Grabpay would be rolled out to tourist hotspots such as hawker centres and dining establishments. Reuters file photo

Grabpay would be rolled out to tourist hotspots such as hawker centres and dining establishments. Reuters file photo

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SINGAPORE ― Tourists visiting the Republic can expect to go cashless at more destinations across the island, as part of a new tie-up between the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and ride-hailing firm Grab.

Under a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on Monday (Jan 22), both parties will also launch a joint study on the behaviourial patterns and transport preferences of tourists travelling in Singapore.

"The insights gained will help both Grab and STB to tailor offerings that are more relevant and enhance the overall visitor experience," STB and Grab said in a joint press release.

The two parties also expect to exchange travel data, such as estimated fares and waiting times, in a bid to help travellers better plan their routes. The initiatives will be rolled out in phases starting from this year.

Meanwhile, Grab will offer a range of transport services to STB's partners in the Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions and Exhibitions industry in Singapore.

STB's chief technology officer Quek Choon Yang said the collaboration with Grab "extends beyond transportation to include sharing of consumer intelligence data and spearheading innovation and technological initiatives".

He added: "With Grab's extensive presence in the Southeast Asian region, which contributes a very large share of our visitors, we are confident of reaching a sizable audience through the multi-faceted touch points offered through the Grab app."

When asked by TODAY why STB chose to partner with Grab, Mr Poh Chi Chuan, Director of Digital Transformation at the tourism board said that both parties bring "unrivalled expertise and knowledge to the partnership".

"STB provides Grab its deep understanding of tourism trends, patterns and behaviours in Singapore. Grab, on the other hand, offers a trusted mobility and payment platform that reaches millions of users through more than 72 million app downloads across seven Southeast Asian countries," he said.

Commenting on whether the privacy of the study's participants would be compromised, Mr Poh said STB is committed to protecting the privacy of consumers, adding that it will only use the data provided for its intended purposes, unless prior written consent is given.

He stated that STB had "implemented processes which are compliant with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)".

"To protect the interests of all our partners, data shared with STB would be on an anonymised level. STB shall not disclose data to the general public or outside the organisation without the explicit approval of our partners," Mr Poh said.

In addition, Grabpay, the ride-hailing firm's payment platform, would be rolled out to tourist hotspots such as hawker centres, dining establishments, cultural and lifestyle precincts, shopping centres and other attractions.

Grab has been trying to promote its payment platform beyond transport fares.

In late August last year, the company announced that it will allow users to pay for food, beverage, retail, entertainment and other goods and services with GrabPay credits. Earlier this month, Grab and NTUC FairPrice launched a subscription service which offers savings and rebates, as well as access to grocery and transport services to customers.

Grab has emerged as one of the largest on-demand transportation and mobile payment platforms in Southeast Asia, winning popularity in countries such as Indonesia and Thailand, which are among the top sources of tourist arrivals for Singapore.

According to the STB's international visitor arrivals statistics published on Jan 5, there were about 2.4 million visitors from Indonesia from January to October last year. In the same period, 453, 242 visitors came from Thailand.

 

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