How Grab Enabled Seamless Cross-Border Payments with Alipay+ via StraitsX
Challenge
The missed opportunity in cross-border retail payments
Digital payments have transformed how consumers transact, offering speed, convenience, and increasingly global reach. For international travellers, the ability to pay with familiar e-wallets like Alipay+ removes friction and drives spending abroad. In theory, a win-win for both tourists and merchants.
But for many merchants, particularly those operating in local retail and F&B sectors, that vision isn’t yet a reality. Despite the rise of digital wallets, accepting payments from foreign tourists still comes with barriers, from fragmented systems to lengthy onboarding processes and settlement delays.
This creates a gap at the point of sale: tourists are ready to spend, but merchants can’t accept their preferred payment method. As a result, businesses lose potential revenue from cross-border transactions — not because demand isn’t there, but because the infrastructure to meet it isn’t fully connected.
So how can merchants unlock these digital flows without the usual frictions of onboarding and settlement?
StraitsX Approach
One QR, many wallets, no extra friction
To bridge the gap between tourist demand and merchant readiness, StraitsX partnered with Grab to streamline cross-border wallet acceptance at the point of sale.
Using the StraitsX Cross-Border Payments API, Grab enabled seamless acceptance of 12 international e-wallets supported by Alipay+. Tourists could simply scan a GrabPay QR code with their preferred home wallet, pay in their local currency, and enjoy real-time FX conversion — all while merchants received funds instantly in SGD.
What’s more, merchants didn’t need to manage new wallet integrations or wait for end-of-day reconciliation. Settlement was instant, in Singapore dollars, and required no changes to existing merchant workflows. This reduced operational complexity, eliminated credit line dependencies, and delivered a smoother payment experience — for both tourists and merchants.
Results and Benefits
+180%
increase in total transaction volume
+800%
growth in unique users (from ~1,000 to ~8,000)
+400%
increase in number of transactions (from ~1,500 to ~9,500)
One QR to rule them all
Tourists could use their home wallets via the familiar GrabPay QR, making it easier to spend and explore.
Merchant stickiness
With no added complexity, merchant adoption and satisfaction remained high.
Operational confidence
Grab benefited from StraitsX’s robust infrastructure for FX, treasury, and blockchain-powered settlement.
“Our partnership with Ant International and StraitsX is part of our ongoing efforts to minimise friction and enhance the payment experience for consumers and small businesses on our platform. Currency exchange can often be a pain point for tourists. With this collaboration, visitors to Singapore can now enjoy the convenience of using their preferred wallet... This also provides merchants with immediate Singapore dollar settlement, improving cash flow.”
Future Outlook
By integrating the StraitsX Cross-Border Payments API, Grab empowered over 130,000 Singapore merchants to accept Alipay+ wallet payments without adding operational friction. Tourists could pay using familiar home wallets, while merchants received instant settlements in SGD, without the need to manage multiple payment systems or currencies.
This partnership didn’t just solve a technical challenge — it created a frictionless, scalable model for cross-border payments that benefits consumers and businesses alike.
Looking ahead, Grab and StraitsX are working to extend this success across the region. Plans include onboarding more international wallets, expanding into new markets, and launching targeted rewards campaigns. All to deepen cross-border engagement and unlock the full potential of digital payment interoperability in Southeast Asia and beyond.
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