Grab Finance, the financial services arm of Grab, is using the FICO Platform to improve access to credit across Southeast Asia.
By setting up more than 22 decision workflows across six countries, Grab Finance has increased credit eligibility by nearly 50%. It now serves over 46 million users, along with millions of merchants and drivers on the Grab platform.
This upgrade has helped drivers, merchants, and passengers access formal credit more quickly and easily, reducing the time it takes to receive credit offers.
The system uses relevant behavioural data such as ride frequency, merchant earnings, and payment history. With FICO’s technology, Grab can offer automated, pre-approved credit, while fully following local laws and respecting user privacy across the region.
“Grab saw a strategic opportunity to make financing in Southeast Asia more accessible by leveraging our superapp ecosystem and behavioral data,” said Andre Tan, Regional Head, Lending Risk Platforms at Grab Finance. “Using FICO Platform, we can deliver contextual, real-time credit offers across multiple verticals within the Grab super app. This enables us to expand financial inclusion by providing credit access for underserved users who are economically active but often overlooked by traditional lenders.”
Southeast Asia has a population of over 700 million people, and many of them still do not have easy access to banking and credit services. Seeing this gap, Grab Finance identified an opportunity to provide safe and scalable credit solutions across the region by using Grab’s large user base and rich data ecosystem.
One major challenge was that many people and small businesses do not have a traditional credit history, which makes it difficult for banks to assess their risk. To solve this, Grab developed alternative risk models using in-app data such as ride usage, merchant activity, and payment behaviour, allowing more users to qualify for credit even without formal credit records.
“We had millions of drivers and merchants who were invisible to traditional banks but were earning real income every day on our platform,” said Tan. “We knew we could change that equation, but we needed technology that could support our efforts to see what conventional credit scoring couldn’t.”
“What Grab Finance has accomplished here is remarkable. They’ve essentially turned everyday digital behavior into a credit passport for millions of people who were previously invisible to traditional banking,” said Nikhil Behl, president, software at FICO. “When a taxi driver in Jakarta can get credit based on their ride patterns, or a food merchant in Bangkok can access working capital through their delivery history, that’s not just innovation, it’s economic transformation at scale.”
“This project drew attention because Grab Finance addressed credit assessment at a regional scale, rather than focusing solely on a discrete technology implementation,” said Sam Abadir, research director, risk and compliance, IDC Financial Insights, and a judge for the FICO Decision Awards. “The judges noted how the organization operationalized regulatory diversity across Southeast Asia within its credit decisioning framework, demonstrating an approach that integrates compliance requirements directly into platform design.”
Grab is a leading super app in Southeast Asia that offers services in food and grocery delivery, transport, and digital financial services. It operates in over 800 cities across eight countries—Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Through one app, people can order food or groceries, send packages, book rides or taxis, make online payments, and access services like loans and insurance. In Malaysia, Grab also runs supermarkets under Jaya Grocer and Everrise, making grocery delivery more convenient.
Grab also provides digital banking services through GXS Bank in Singapore and GXBank in Malaysia. Founded in 2012, Grab’s mission is to support economic growth in Southeast Asia by creating opportunities for everyone. The company focuses on a triple bottom line—delivering value to shareholders, helping millions of people earn and grow financially, and reducing its impact on the environment.
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