SINGAPORE — February 4, 2026
Executive Summary
Grab Finance, the financial services arm of Southeast Asia’s leading superapp Grab, has expanded access to credit across the region by deploying the FICO Platform to operationalize advanced decisioning at scale. Through the implementation of 22 decision workflows across six Southeast Asian countries, Grab Finance has increased credit offer eligibility rates by nearly 50% while serving more than 46 million consumers, alongside millions of merchant- and driver-partners across its ecosystem. According to the company, the deployment enables automated, contextual, and real-time credit decisioning using behavioral data generated within the Grab super app, supporting faster access to formal credit for users who are economically active but historically underserved by traditional financial institutions. The initiative has also been recognized with a 2026 FICO® Decision Award for Financial Inclusion, highlighting the regional scale and operational scope of the project.
Announcement Overview
Grab Finance has announced the expansion of its credit decisioning capabilities across Southeast Asia through the use of the FICO Platform, marking a significant step in its efforts to broaden access to responsible credit across multiple markets. The company stated that the initiative spans six countries in the region and encompasses 22 distinct decision workflows designed to support credit eligibility, assessment, and offer delivery across Grab’s ecosystem.
According to Grab Finance, the deployment has enabled the company to materially expand the number of users eligible to receive credit offers, increasing eligibility rates by nearly 50%. These users include driver-partners, merchant-partners, and passengers who interact with Grab’s platform daily for mobility, deliveries, payments, and other services. The company noted that the decisioning framework allows credit offers to be delivered contextually and in real time, based on behavioral signals generated through everyday activity on the platform.
The initiative was implemented in under eight months, covering Grab’s three primary customer portfolios and multiple regulatory jurisdictions. Grab Finance stated that the project supports its broader objective of enabling access to formal financial services for individuals and small businesses that may lack traditional credit bureau histories but demonstrate consistent economic activity through platform participation.
Key Announcement Details
- Announcement type: Credit decisioning platform deployment and regional expansion
- Platform used: FICO® Platform
- Implementing entity: Grab Finance
- Decision workflows deployed: 22
- Countries covered: Six Southeast Asian markets
- Implementation timeline: Under eight months
- Eligibility impact: Nearly 50% increase in credit offer eligibility rates
- Recognition: 2026 FICO® Decision Award for Financial Inclusion
Strategic Context
According to the company, Southeast Asia represents one of the world’s largest underbanked regions, with a population exceeding 700 million people and significant gaps in access to traditional credit. Many individuals and small businesses across the region operate outside formal banking systems or possess limited credit histories, resulting in thin or nonexistent credit bureau files.
Grab Finance stated that these structural conditions present both challenges and opportunities for financial service providers seeking to expand access to credit responsibly. Traditional credit assessment models often rely on bureau data that may not accurately reflect the economic activity of gig workers, small merchants, and digitally native consumers who transact primarily through platform ecosystems.
In this context, Grab Finance identified an opportunity to leverage its scale, reach, and data-rich superapp environment to develop alternative approaches to credit assessment. By using behavioral signals generated through platform activity, the company aimed to construct risk models that could support automated decisioning while aligning with regulatory requirements and data privacy commitments across multiple jurisdictions.
The company also noted that the fragmented regulatory environment across Southeast Asia requires localized compliance with credit, banking, and data protection laws. As a result, any regional decisioning framework must balance consistency and scalability with country-specific regulatory explainability and governance requirements.
Using Behavioral Data to Expand Credit Eligibility
Grab Finance stated that a central component of its approach involves the use of appropriate behavioral data derived from interactions within the Grab super app. These data points include ride frequency, merchant revenues, transaction volumes, and payment histories, which together provide insight into users’ economic activity over time.
According to the company, these behavioral signals are used to support automated, pre-approved credit offers delivered across Grab’s ecosystem. The decisioning process is designed to operate in line with applicable laws and regulations in each market and with Grab’s internal privacy commitments.
By shifting the focus from traditional bureau data to platform-generated behavioral insights, Grab Finance stated that it has been able to identify creditworthy users who may have been overlooked by conventional lenders. The company emphasized that this approach enables faster access to credit while maintaining responsible risk management practices.
Leadership Perspective From Grab Finance
“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.”
Addressing Data Scarcity and Credit Visibility
According to Grab Finance, one of the primary challenges facing individuals and businesses seeking credit in Southeast Asia is data scarcity resulting from limited engagement with traditional financial institutions. Many users generate income through platform-based work or operate small enterprises without extensive formal banking histories.
The company stated that millions of driver-partners and merchant-partners earn regular income through Grab’s platform but may remain invisible to traditional banks due to the absence of bureau records. As a result, these users often face barriers when attempting to access formal credit products.
Grab Finance indicated that developing alternative risk models based on in-app behavioral signals was a critical step in addressing this challenge. By analyzing patterns such as ride activity, merchant sales, and payment behavior, the company aimed to create a more complete picture of users’ financial activity.
“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.”
Managing Regulatory Diversity Across the Region
According to the company, Southeast Asia’s regulatory landscape is highly fragmented, with significant variation in credit, banking, and data protection regulations across countries. This diversity presents operational challenges for companies seeking to deploy region-wide financial services solutions.
Grab Finance stated that its decisioning framework needed to support localized compliance requirements while maintaining a consistent regional operating model. This included ensuring explainability, auditability, and governance within credit decision processes across markets.
The company noted that the FICO Platform’s capabilities enabled Grab Finance to operationalize regulatory diversity within its credit decisioning framework, integrating compliance requirements directly into platform design rather than treating them as afterthoughts.
Rapid Time-to-Value and Regional Deployment
Grab Finance stated that the implementation of the FICO Platform delivered rapid time-to-value, with phase one of the transformation completed in under eight months. The deployment covered six countries in which Grab operates and involved the rollout of 22 separate decision workflows.
According to the company, these workflows span Grab’s three primary customer portfolios: driver-partners, passenger users, and merchant-partners. The automation of key processes, such as credit eligibility assessment, enabled the company to scale decisioning capabilities across markets without relying on manual intervention.
The company described the project as ambitious in scope, given the number of markets, customer segments, and regulatory environments involved. Despite this complexity, Grab Finance stated that the platform deployment enabled it to standardize decisioning processes while retaining the flexibility needed for local adaptation.
Perspective From FICO Leadership
“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.”
Recognition Through the FICO® Decision Awards
For its achievements, Grab Finance received a 2026 FICO® Decision Award for Financial Inclusion. According to FICO, the awards recognize organizations that demonstrate measurable improvement, best practices, project scale, and innovative use of technology through FICO solutions.
The awards are evaluated by a panel of independent judges with industry expertise, who assess nominations based on objective criteria rather than promotional narratives. Grab Finance’s recognition reflects the regional scale and operational breadth of its credit decisioning initiative.
“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 at 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.”
Broader Implications for Financial Inclusion
According to the company, the deployment of advanced decisioning across Grab’s ecosystem supports broader efforts to expand financial inclusion in Southeast Asia. By enabling faster and more inclusive access to credit, the initiative aims to support economic participation among individuals and small businesses that contribute meaningfully to the region’s digital economy.
Grab Finance stated that access to formal credit can help driver-partners manage income volatility, support merchant-partners with working capital needs, and enable consumers to address short-term financial requirements. The company emphasized that its approach focuses on responsible credit delivery aligned with regulatory expectations.
The company also noted that the integration of decisioning capabilities within the superapp environment allows credit offers to be delivered at relevant moments, reducing friction and improving user experience.
About Grab Finance
Grab Finance is the financial services arm of Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading superapp. Grab operates across the deliveries, mobility, and digital financial services sectors, enabling users to order food and groceries, send packages, hail rides or taxis, make digital payments, and access services such as lending and insurance through a single application.
Founded in 2012, Grab operates in more than 800 cities across eight Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The platform serves tens of millions of users across the region and supports a large ecosystem of driver-partners and merchant-partners.
As part of its financial services offerings, Grab provides digital banking services through GXS Bank in Singapore and GXBank in Malaysia. The company also operates supermarket chains in Malaysia under the Jaya Grocer and Everrise brands, extending its reach into grocery retail and on-demand delivery.
Grab states that its mission is to drive Southeast Asia forward by creating economic empowerment for everyone. The company operates with a stated commitment to a triple bottom line, seeking to deliver financial performance while generating positive social impact, including economic empowerment, and mitigating environmental impact.
About FICO
FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, FICO is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decision-making across industries.
FICO holds more than 200 U.S. and international patents related to analytics and decisioning technologies. Its solutions are used by businesses in more than 80 countries across financial services, insurance, telecommunications, healthcare, retail, and other sectors.
According to the company, FICO solutions are used to help protect approximately 4 billion payment cards from fraud, support financial inclusion initiatives, and improve supply chain resiliency. The FICO® Score is used by approximately 90% of top U.S. lenders as a standard measure of consumer credit risk and is available in more than 40 countries.
Media Contacts
Neil Mirano
RICE for FICO
+65 3157 5680
neil.mirano@ricecomms.com
FICO
press@fico.com
Source Attribution
Source: Company announcement