Grab set to acquire Atome stake for US$1.49bil to expand lending

Grab, the Southeast Asia's largest ride-hailing platform, announced on Tuesday its plan to acquire a controlling stake in Atome Financial, a digital finance firm, for US$1.49 billion. This move aims to expand access to loans for users across the region. Grab, which also operates food, grocery, and parcel delivery services, will gain a 60% equity interest in Atome Financial following the deal.

The acquisition will combine Atome Financial's diverse portfolio of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) loans, consumer cash loans, BNPL cards, and digital lending services with Grab's existing financial services business. By merging their capabilities, both companies aim to jointly develop products offering everyday financing to more people in the region. This joint effort seeks to extend access to millions of unbanked and underbanked individuals who lack a formal credit history and are typically excluded from traditional banking.

Through this strategic partnership, Grab will benefit from Atome's established consumer lending platform, while Atome will leverage Grab's extensive regional ecosystem to open new distribution channels. As stated by Grab's president and COO, Alex Hungate, "With Grab's ecosystem, and our proven AI-powered lending infrastructure, we can extend that to millions more across Southeast Asia who've been left out."

Atome Financial's CEO, Jefferson Chen, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the collaboration will help deliver on their shared vision of responsibly extending financial access to the unbanked and underbanked in the region.

While bank account ownership has risen significantly in developing economies in recent years, according to World Bank figures, approximately 1.3 billion adults globally remain unbanked. Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, continues to account for a substantial portion of this unbanked population, particularly among rural, lower-income, and informal workers, as reported in the World Bank's Global Findex Database.