A prepaid MasterCard credit card can be an excellent option for consumers who want to prevent overspending. Pre-loading it with a set amount makes it safer and much more convenient than cash and has plenty of uses.
If your prepaid MasterCard integrates seamlessly with GrabPay, you might have the best card available in the market for food and shopping delivery services. Learn all about the increasingly-popular GrabPay MasterCard and what we think about it in this detailed review.
A Short Background: Who is Grab?
Grab is a transportation network company that provides various services to passengers and drivers. The company offers a mobile app that allows users to book a car on-demand. It also offers a taxi-hailing service for passengers who prefer to arrange a ride from a driver on the street.
The pandemic gave the Grab app enormous attention worldwide, especially in Singapore. The app’s GrabPay wallet allows you to use other credit cards to pay for the company’s services, making the GrabPay card from MasterCard a physical card that integrates seamlessly with any bank account and credit card.
Key Features
- Asia’s first numberless physical card
- High security level because your card details are effectively stored within your Grab App, making it a semi-digital GrabPay card
- Earn GrabRewards points that you can exchange for vouchers, discounts, and more through your application.
- Mobile Phone Protection coverage by using your GrabPay balance to pay your monthly mobile bills.
- E-commerce Purchase Protection for all products purchased using your GrabPay Card
- Complimentary MasterCard lounge access for delayed flights
- Spending and saving controls
- Real-time payment notifications.
Benefits
The Best For Food Delivery Services
This physical GrabPay card seamlessly integrates with your Grab App and works like a charm when you’re using it for food services. You now have a card that earns points while ordering the best meals and dishes available in the country.
Excellent Security Features
GrabPay Mastercard is Asia’s first numberless card. It stores its digits in your GrabPay application, making theft and fraud much more challenging for any unscrupulous parties planning to steal from it. If your card gets stolen or lost, you can remotely deactivate it from your app without having to call any bank.
GrabRewards Points System
The GrabRewards program rewards loyal customers with free rides, discounts, and other perks. Points can be earned through various actions such as signing up for a Grab account, completing your first ride, or even inviting friends to join.
Your GrabPay card allows you to receive 3-6 GrabRewards points for every S $1 that you spend. The amount of points depends on whether you’re a regular member or have a membership that ranks gold, silver, or platinum. You can exchange these points for vouchers or Krisflyer miles (with an exchange rate of 0.3-0.6 KF miles per S $1).
Product Insurance
Your GrabPay MasterCard would give your E-commerce purchases fully-paid product insurance if you paid for them using the card. The E-Commerce Purchase Protection insurance guarantees that you’ll get refunds or replacements if anything happens to the items you’ve paid.
Added Phone Protection
By using your GrabPay MasterCard, you’ll receive an additional Mobile Phone Protection policy that insures your smartphone’s life.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Insurance policies for smartphones and e-commerce purchases
- High-level security through a numberless card
- Many perks that are unique from other credit cards and multi-currency debit cards
Cons
- No noticeable difference in perks and features when compared to GrabPay
- Works much better as a substitute to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and other digital card payment platforms rather than actual credit cards.
- GrabRewards points have worse conversion rates than typical credit and debit card bonuses from banks.
GrabPay MasterCard vs. Other Cards In The Market
Here is how GrabPay MasterCard shapes up against its local competitors.
Credit Card | Minimum Income Requirement | Annual Interest Rate | Cashback | Cashback Cap | Minimum Monthly Spending | Rewards |
GrabPay MasterCard | None | None | n/a | n/a | None |
|
HSBC Advance Credit Card | S $30,000 (S $40,000 for Foreigners) | 25.90 | 1.5-3.5% | S $70 for non-HSBC Advance customers | None |
|
HSBC Premier Mastercard Credit Card | S $30,000 (S $40,000 for foreigners) | 25.90 | 5% | S $150 per month | S $600 |
|
Maybank Family and Friends Card | S $30,000 (S $60,000) | 25.90% | 8% | S $125 (Monthly) | S $800 |
|
DBS Woman’s World Card | S $80,000 for both Singaporeans and Foreigners | 26.80% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
|
Standard Chartered Unlimited Cashback Credit Card | S $30,000 (S $60,000 for foreigners) | 26.90% | 1.5% | Unlimited | None |
|
HSBC Revolution Credit Card | S $30,000 (S $40,000 for foreigners) | 26.80% | 2.5% | Unlimited | None |
|
What We Think of GrabPay MasterCard
GrabPay MasterCard isn’t a terrible card. However, its limited usability makes it immensely lesser than the other cards on this list. Then again, the card is free for anyone to apply for and use for online purchases, GrabPay top-ups, and any online purchase.
If you’re a frequent Grab user who uses it to order food or take rides, the card is a must-have because your GrabRewards points can accumulate and give you bonus rides, discounts, and vouchers for your future purchases.
However that’s all we can recommend using it for because in comparison to other cards in this list, even Grab’s complimentary lounge access for delayed flights doesn’t feel too convenient. Until you realize you don’t deal with interest rates, minimum payments, and minimum deposits with the GrabPay digital card, it will always feel convenient yet lacking in many ways.
How to Apply For The GrabPay MasterCard
Here are the requirements to apply for the GrabPay MasterCard
Eligibility
- 21 years old and above
- S $10 deposit
Requirements
- Be an active Grab user
Fees
- No annual fees
- No late payment fees (prepaid)
Steps to Apply
- Activate the Grab app from your smartphone
- Choose GrabPay MasterCard
- Apply for a Grabpay MasterCard and fill out the needed data to request physical card
- Pay the S $10 and wait for your card to arrive at your address.
FAQs About Digital Cards
Where Can You Use The GrabPay MasterCard?
You can use your new GrabPay card as you would any MasterCard credit card. You can swipe it to pay for your groceries, shops, and places that accept MasterCard. Be aware that your GrabPay MasterCard will only earn you GrabRewards points that you can use on Grab itself
Is GrabPay MasterCard Compatible With Other Payment Platforms?
GrabPay MasterCard is compatible with Samsung Pay. Grab has yet to update its compatibility with Apple Pay, but it will most likely achieve this compatibility in the future.
What Is A Prepaid Credit Card?
Prepaid credit cards are a type of credit card loaded with money in advance. They are often used when you don’t have an established credit history or when you want to control your spending. You can pay for purchases up to the amount on the card, but you’ll need to reload it after that.
Do Prepaid Credit Cards Have Interest Rates?
No, they do not. Prepaid credit cards are different from the regular credit cards you use at a store. They don’t have a line of credit, but instead, they work on a “pay as you go” system. You can load money onto your card until it’s gone, and then reload when you need to.
What Is The Typical Minimum Deposit For Prepaid Credit Cards?
To activate a prepaid credit card, the minimum deposit is usually between S $5 and S $20. For GrabPay MasterCard, it is S $10 to create a physical card and the same amount to replace it if it gets destroyed or stolen.
How Does Normal GrabPay and GrabPay MasterCard Differ?
Your GrabPay Wallet is convenient for paying for anything you purchase using the transportation and delivery service because you can earn discounts and points through your wallet. The GrabPay MasterCard uses funds in your GrabPay Wallet when you use it in venues that accept MasterCard.
The two differ immensely in functionality but they have a conditional relationship that allows them to work together to your benefit.
Is a Prepaid Credit Card Like a Debit Card?
A prepaid credit card is just like a debit card with the exception that you can only spend up to the amount of money that’s been loaded onto the card account. It’s not possible to spend more money on the card account. Prepaid credit cards are useful because they help you limit your spending, have no numbers embossed on the card, and you can easily deactivate them through an app or interface when they get lost or stolen.
Which Bank Is Grab Partnered With For Its Card?
Grab isn’t partnered with a bank but with a payment network.
As one of the world’s largest payment networks, MasterCard offers many prepaid credit cards with different features and benefits. These are useful for those who want to travel or make purchases without carrying a wallet around with them. It also makes it easy for them to spend money in places where they might not access a traditional checking or banking account.
Do Prepaid Credit Cards Build Credit Scores?
A prepaid card cannot build your credit because they don’t function the same as traditional credit cards due to their reloading capabilities and lack of interest rates. Prepaid cards also do not report to the credit bureaus, meaning your spending isn’t monitored, and they will not affect your score.
Our Final Thoughts
GrabPay MasterCard is an excellent prepaid credit card, but it doesn’t measure up to the rewards and bonuses non-prepaid credit cards have. Plus, using GrabPay MasterCard does not improve your credit scores because the card will not record your credentials with credit scoring companies. However, you will enjoy many GrabRewards perks and convenient one-tap payment features using this card.
- GrabPay MasterCard doesn’t have any strict requirements to activate as long as you’ve been using Grab for the longest time.
- This card is compatible with all stores, restaurants, and establishments that use the MasterCard Payment Network.
- Earn GrabReward points according to your membership tier.
- GrabPay MasterCard uses funds in your Grab wallet when you use it as a prepaid card.
- Your GrabPay MasterCard will not help increase your credit scores because it doesn’t report to credit scoring companies.
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