Grab Singapore has updated its terms and conditions to disallow payments to other e-wallets, with immediate effect.
Grab’s new exclusions
Here’s Grab’s latest list of exclusions:
Why can’t I use my GrabPay Card at some merchants
Note: This article lists entities and transaction types that are not supported by the GrabPay Card. To learn more about what you can use your GrabPay Card for, please see the linked article instead.
Grab is dedicated to ensuring you have a fuss-free payment experience. However, if you’re unable to use your GrabPay Card at some merchants, it may be because the merchant or entity is unsupported. All merchants have a Merchant Category Code (MCC), which we use to verify the merchant type.
You may refer to the list below for the types of merchants and transactions that are not supported:
- If the merchant does not support Mastercard*
- Adding your card to Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay
- Domestic ATM withdrawals
- Merchants involved in lottery (MCC 7800) or sports betting (MCC 7801, 7802, 7995, 9754)
- Merchants involved in cryptocurrency trading
- Certain drug, tobacco and alcohol stores (MCC 5122, 5967, 5993)
- Merchants which may not be in compliance with regulatory guidelines set by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for Anti-Money Laundering or Counter-Financing of Terrorism
- eWallets and Remittance Services. Examples include: Revolut, YouTrip, BigPay Singapore, ShopeePay, Lazada top-ups, Amaze, EZ-Link app, Remitly, and Western Union
Please note that we review and update this list on a regular basis.
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The real pain
This is a huge blow to credit card users in Singapore as you can no longer earn 1.7% cashback where credit cards are not supported.
This includes:
- Overseas cash withdrawals
- Parents’ monthly allowance
- Pay a friend for last night’s dinner
- Red/Green packet for loved ones
- Pay your landlord
- Pay your vehicle loan installment
Related: How to get 1.7% Cashback on overseas ATM withdrawals and Bank Transfers to Friends, Family or anyone
Bottom line
With this change. Grab is almost completely useless to me.
At the moment, Grab can still be used for bill payments (like insurance) on AXS. Also, it can come in handy when there are exclusive partnerships with selected merchants (like PRISM+) to offer additional discounts. But other than that, Grab is dead to me. 💀
If this hits you badly, remember that “nerfs” like this are part of the Miles/Cashback game. Doors open and close all the time.
I hope that you guys do not have large amounts of money kept in your Grab wallet. If you do, you can still use them for other spendings.
Let’s hope that YouTrip and Revolut adds AMEX support in future!
why is it useless when you can still use grabpay to pay axs bills?
Good point. I should know this as I just paid my insurance premium last week. Thanks!