Grab urges cabbies to go cashless

Cabbies can instantly transfer fares to their DBS or PSOB accounts.

Ride-hailing platform Grab launched GrabNow service in Singapore, digitalising street-hailing experience by enabling passengers to flag down and connect instantly with cabbies via the Grab app.

According to GrabTaxi Singapore head Melvin Vu, participating GrabTaxi drivers can be identified by a special GrabNow decal.

“With GrabNow, our customers can enjoy the best of both worlds – the immediacy of street hailing as well as all the benefits of the Grab app, including cashless payments, GrabRewards points and best-in-class safety standards. We are really excited to offer taxi driver-partners and passengers another way to experience the Grab app,” he said.

GrabNow makes every street-hail ride that much more rewarding. To use GrabNow, passengers simply need to launch the Grab app, select the “Standard Taxi” service, followed by the “GrabNow” option. This will prompt the passenger’s and their GrabTaxi driver-partner’s mobile devices to pair.

Pairing takes no more than ten seconds and can be done either via Google Nearby, or a 6-digit code issued from the driver’s app, which the passenger can enter into their device. The trip will then be registered as a GrabTaxi ride and can be paid for seamlessly using Grab’s in-app cashless payment feature GrabPay, or by cash.

Vu mentioned that GrabNow has the potential of bringing more taxi-drivers into the cashless society. Grab’s internal research with taxi drivers revealed that a majority of street-hail taxi rides are transacted in cash. Taxi drivers who cited cash as their preferred payment mode liked the ability to use cash fares instantly without having to wait for financial institutions to process the payment.

As cashless payment via GrabPay becomes the norm for commuters, Grab is introducing the industry’s first Instant Cash Out feature for taxi drivers. All GrabTaxi driver-partners with POSB or DBS bank accounts can instantly transfer fares collected via GrabPay into their bank accounts, and withdraw their earnings at any of the bank’s ATMs, without having to wait for the standard processing time of one working day. Grab aims to roll out the Instant Cash Out feature to other local bank account holders in the following months.

“GrabNow not only digitises the street-hailing experience, but is also expected to drive more cashless transactions via GrabPay. We understand that many taxi drivers are still hesitant to accept cashless payments due to the extra processing time for credit and debit card transactions. We believe that our latest Instant Cash Out feature will encourage taxi drivers to embrace the convenience of cashless payment, and bring more taxi-drivers into the cashless society,” Vu said.