Publika mall chosen as 1st establishment as the surrounding areas are populated by tech-savvy users

By NUR HAZIQAH A MALEK / Pic By TMR

Grab Malaysia has projected a 60% integration for its e-wallet service, GrabPay, at Publika mall within the next two to three weeks, in tandem with the retail complex management’s plan to create a cashless environment within the vicinity.

GrabPay Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines MD Ooi Huey Tyng (picture) said the company chose Publika mall as its first establishment because the surrounding areas are populated by tech-savvy users.

“We are looking at 60% GrabPay integration out of around 200 plus merchants that are present in Publika within the next two to three weeks,” she said at the launch of the partnership between Grab and developer UEM Sunrise Bhd in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Ooi added that GrabPay is also expected to extend its services to other projects by UEM Sunrise, including the Iskandar Puteri township, one of the five flagship zones of Iskandar Malaysia in Johor.

She said Grab e-wallet could simplify the people’s lifestyle without having to withdraw, or hold that much cash.

“As it is, around 80% of transactions in Malaysia are still done by cash. However, we have still a long way to go before we can be a cashless society. That’s why we start with areas that are filled with Grab-frequents,” she said.

She added that since GrabPay’s launch, the service has seen gradual transaction increase every week.

“Since the launch a few months ago, we have been able to increase our merchant numbers by four times, and despite the general high cash transaction percentage in the country, our GrabPay transaction rates are increasing week on week,” she said.

Grab had also partnered Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) in May to push for its e-wallet service by allowing Grab consumers to use the GrabPay mobile wallet at Maybank’s key merchants.

Ooi said the partnership with a local bank has, and will increase further trust among locals in utilising Grab as an e-wallet service.

Meanwhile, UEM Sunrise MD and CEO Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib said he is confident that the company would hit its sales targets of RM1.2 billion this year.

“We plan to roll out our projects worth between RM350 million and RM500 million within the last quarter of the year,” he said.

As of the end of June 2018, the group has secured RM663.8 million in sales and currently, the group’s launches and sales are on track.

He said the company wishes it could lower the prices of its properties and products. However, other costs should also be taken into account.

“We really want to be able to lower our prices for increased affordability, but there are other costs that we need to cover,” he said.

He added that it is still too early to say about the budget wishlist, but there are a few things the company is looking out for.

“However, we still want easy entry, easy payment, business operating costs to be lowered, so those are the few things we want to look out for,” he said.