GrabTaxi Rebrands, Goes Cashless (And Corporate)

Ride-hailing app company GrabTaxi has rebranded itself as Grab to reflect its market growth and dominance, the company announced.

The change comes as the Singapore-based company ventured into multiple operations, such as providing taxi-based rides (GrabTaxi), private cars (GrabCar), motorbike rides (GrabBike), carpooling services (GrabHitch) and its product delivery service called GrabExpress.

“We’ve grown over the years, and we’re now much more than a taxi app. This new brand is an important evolution that represents our goal to outserve our customers. We are not only providing passengers with a transport service, we are saving them time and ensuring they have a safe ride,” said Anthony Tan, group CEO and cofounder of Grab.

Grab’s rebranding initiative comes almost four years after its launch in 2012. Since then, the company has emerged to build a stronghold in the Southeast Asian ride-hailing market. Its operation is backed by over 200,000 drivers and 11 million mobile downloads, which has led it to become the largest land transportation company in the geographic region.

Other than rebranding itself, the company also announced the addition of new features to its app, which essentially allow users to order a ride with just “two clicks.” To add to the seamless experience, the company has now also introduced credit card payments in the app’s new version. While the app will now accept credit card payments, it will still give the users the ability to quickly toggle the options to pay by cash.

“GrabPay is available in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia, and multiple credit card support will be available in Singapore starting 28 January and Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia in February,” the company said. “GrabPay will be rolled out in Thailand and Vietnam in the first half of 2016.”

With the new app update, the company is now also aiming at attracting corporate users through in-app features under its service, GrabWork, which makes it easy for users to segregate their business rides from personal rides and, ultimately, expense them.

“Grab aims to make transportation accessible to everyone in Southeast Asia … We have something for everyone and are committed to delivering the best possible user experience,” Tan added.