Grab Finance, the financial services arm of Southeast Asia’s superapp Grab, has expanded access to credit across the region after deploying the FICO Platform, helping increase credit offer eligibility rates by nearly 50% across its user base.
The initiative covers more than 46 million consumers, along with millions of merchants and drivers across six Southeast Asian countries. The rollout introduced over 22 decision workflows designed to automate credit assessments and speed up loan approvals. Fico is an analytics and software company.
The platform analyzes behavioral data such as ride frequency, merchant revenues, and payment history to generate pre-approved credit offers. The system operates within local regulations and aligns with Grab’s privacy policies.
“Using FICO Platform, we can deliver contextual, real-time credit offers across multiple verticals within the Grab super app,” said Andre Tan, regional head, Lending Risk Platforms at Grab Finance. “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 more than 700 million people, with a large portion lacking access to traditional banking services. Grab Finance developed credit solutions using digital activity data from drivers, merchants, and passengers.
“We had millions of drivers and merchants who were invisible to traditional banks but were earning real income every day on our platform,” Tan said. “We knew we could change that equation, but we needed technology that could support our efforts to see what conventional credit scoring couldn’t.”
FICO completed the first phase of the deployment in less than eight months. The system supports Grab’s three main customer groups, including driver-partners, passenger users, and merchant-partners, while meeting varying credit, banking, and data protection rules across countries.
“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.