By BusinessWorld,Cedtyclea
Copyright bworldonline
RIDE-HAILING superapp Grab has integrated its services into artificial intelligence (AI)-powered travel assistant Alipay+ Voyager, allowing users to book rides across Southeast Asia without downloading the Grab app.
The partnership enables travelers to access Grab’s services in over 800 cities across eight countries — the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Myanmar — directly from the Alipay+ Voyager app.
“With Southeast Asia growing in popularity as a travel destination, making Grab’s services directly available within Alipay+ partner apps offers users the most comprehensive and trusted local transportation across the region,” Scarlett Xing, general manager of Alipay+ Travel Solutions at Ant International, said in a statement.
The integration is expected to make transportation more convenient in a region that hosts millions of tourists annually.
Launched in June by Chinese fintech provider Ant International, Alipay+ Voyager is an end-to-end AI travel assistant that allows users to plan and book trips. It is linked to digital wallet providers such as Alipay (Mainland China), AlipayHK (Hong Kong), and GCash (Philippines), with plans to expand to additional partners this year.
“Alipay+ Voyager will continue to expand our ecosystem, particularly across essential travel services, to connect more partners with mobile-savvy travellers, while we collaborate to create new ways of engagement across the entire travel journey,” Ms. Xing said.
The move strengthens Alipay+ and Grab’s partnership, which began in 2023 with users able to pay on Grab via the e-wallet provider.
“This collaboration underscores our shared commitment to enhancing the travel experience and providing greater convenience for millions of users,” Grab Head of Mobility Samir Kumar said.
Alipay+ connects about 36 leading payment partner apps with over 1.7 billion users and more than 100 million in-store merchants across 70 markets. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
