Lending Mobile Payments

Grab’s New Investor Could Be The Missing Piece To Help it Reach Underbanked Asian Markets

Experian, a globally-known information services company, has invested into Grab and is now another notch into the ride-hailing platform’s quest to US$6.5 billion in an ongoing Series H by the end of 2019.

Experian’s investment value has not been disclosed.

Experian has an ongoing interest in the one billion individuals who remain unbanked. To that end, the Grab investment is its 4th in Asia, where it hopes the strategic partnership will enable both companies to harness their technologies and data analytics to customise Grab’s offerings for its users, which on the financial inclusion front, should mean improving access to loans for aspiring entrepreneurs across the region.

Experian’s investment in Grab is its 4th in Asia, which is home to over a billion individuals who are still unbanked with the most recent being a US$ 10 Million into Malaysian based Jirnexu.

Recognised globally as leading innovative companies, the strategic partnership will enable both companies to harness their technologies and data analytics to sharpen the way Grab customises its offerings for its users, which includes improving access to loans for aspiring entrepreneurs across the region.

Grab has, for the longest time, spoken about how their goal is to target underserved and unbanked populations in Asia. The deal with Experian will likely finally give Grab the tools needed to hit those goals. Experian’s main service is data—specifically, data about the underserved and underbanked.

Some of its offerings include assessing creditworthiness of underserved consumers, prequalification of customers for credit in real-time, and income insight models that help determine a customer’s ability to meet their financial obligations.

Ben Elliott, Chief Executive Officer, Experian Asia Pacific, said:

Ben Elliott

“We have a vision for the future of financial services, one that is powered by technology and alternative data. We want to transform the way consumers and businesses seek out financial products and services. This partnership with Grab, alongside our existing investments in the region, helps to build on our promise of matching the demand and supply of financial access to all consumers and businesses, driving greater financial inclusion.”