Grab Invest (Robo)

During the earlier part of 2020, Grab announced an acquisition of a wealth start-up, Bento. The have since re-branded them to be GrabInvest. It looks like they have ambitious plans to expand into South East Asia with Singapore as its base. We have seen quite a number of new services and products that Grab has been rolling out. That is the benefits of having strong backers as well as a branding that aims to disrupt some industry. I’m not too sure how big they can become but they have been throwing marketing dollars for some time to build their brand. You can read more about the acquisition here at Bento As GrabInvest.

Invest, Save and Grab

It sounds like Grab is going to bring out the brand in their app once more. They probably want to integrate this into the Super App that we often hear about. The tag line is pretty effective I say.

Almost No Barrier to Entry

It takes only a small amount to start investing. I don’t think Syfe and StashAway has a minimum amount to start investing but this set them apart from the usual investing through micro-investing. I’m not too sure about the effectiveness though.

Saving Money

Each time you use the app to do certain actions, you get to choose an amount that will be used to invest automatically. Good habit though.

Spend

There is no lock-up for your funds so you can transfer your money back to the wallet anytime. Talk about flexibility.

Underlying Investments

Okay, looking at how things are. This is similar to the other robo-advisors as to their cash solutions. The underlying funds would be Fullerton Fund and UOB asset management. My guess is the usual short duration bonds or assets as close to cash funds. Due to the nature of the expected returns projected at 1.8% p.a., it is most likely the case.

Fees are simple at 0.45% p.a. Similar or higher than other solutions. If you ask me, I’ll go for Singlife account where you can deposit up to S$10k at 2.5% p.a. and it is SDIC protected. Micro-investing versus Singlife – Singlife wins hands down but integration wise and branding, Grab edges forward a little more.

Read about my previous post on Singlife here at Where to Park Your Funds? Singlife

For excess funds of more than S$10k, get into Dash and Earn. The first year will be at 2% p.a. capped at $20k. Then go for Tiq Gigantiq at 2%p.a. (For the first year) capped at S$10k. On the options available, I’ll give grab a miss unless I have too much spare cash in their wallet that I can’t take it out.

Conclusion

It seems like it is a hype for now. Other for convenience, I can’t find much differentiation from the rest of the many options available in the market except for convenience. It doesn’t help that Grab is trying to take over the world by trying to integrate everything. I don’t support a monopoly so that is a minus. However, I do think that there are other services which will show up on the app in the near future. Coupled with the fact that digital banking license will be announced in Q4 2020 or in 2021 should there be any delay. As a consumer, we should be happy about competition.

I do see more pros than cons though, given their history of data breaches and bad marketing. Also, I don’t see that they are MAS licensed or approved nor are they working with any financial institutions other than the mentioned fund houses or asset managers. On top of that, monies are held in custody of Grab. Reading their Terms and Conditions, it seemed like they got their own ass covered as compared to the consumer so I’m not too sure about that.

I still don’t see it on my Grab App even after updating the app so I’m wondering how buggy their app can be over time.

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post and purely my own opinion that I am writing about in my thoughts. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. Don’t be too fixated with what is the best.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services and products here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

Images seen in this article were take off the relevant websites for illustration purposes only.

GIGA with OCBC Frank Credit Card (Part 3)

There is even more stuff of GIGA customers now. Now this is rather interesting on how they are developing as a company. First come first serve.

GIGA – A Subsidiary of Starhub

This is pretty cool now although i’m not quite sure if I am within the first few who applied for the OCBC Frank Credit Card. I’m not really a fan of OCBC cards as they are generally very traditional and they do not go out that much to get the deals or promotions as much as the other cards do.

Capture

Benefits of the FRANK Credit Card

They have this collaboration about giga’s perfect match with the following:

a. Unlock 6% cashback with the all-new FRANK credit card on online spends, grocery shopping and retail therapy (Using Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay or Google Pay)

b. S$50 giga bucks as credit to deduct off your monthly giga telephone bills within 2 months upon card approval.

c. Minimum monthly eligible spend of S$600 (online or offline and get S$75 back a month)

The GIGA offer is limited to the first 1,000 sign-ups and valid until 31 October 2020 so do find out more before application.

(link here: https://www.frankbyocbc.com/campaign/meet-giga?AgentSourceCode=GIGEDM

**You have to be a new to FRANK Credit Card member to apply though.

More Perks

On the side, You can also leave a Facebook Review on GIGA’s office Facebook page (Here: https://www.facebook.com/gigaexperience/) and stand to win a S$10 Grabfood Voucher.

Nothing is for free. There will be a small registration fee for the SIM card. You also need to choose the date of delivery of your SIM card. However, you can use a referral code to supplement the discount. You will get a discount if you use my referral code – “LhS9Ng”. The referral credit is only valid for any plans except the basic $10 GIGA plans.

You can visit their website to find out more: https://www.giga.com.sg/

Disclaimer

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/

The pictures were taken from GIGA website for this article.