Your guide on how to use Grab Malaysia in Singapore - Terms and conditions, restrictions and how to pay for your ride

Planning a trip to Singapore to hit the shops, visit friends, or check out some of the world famous attractions? Whatever you’ve got planned, you can probably make life easier by using options like Grab¹ to arrange your ride from the airport to your hotel, to order in food for a quick lunch, scan and pay in a hawker, or to get a driver to take you out to your next tourist destination.

The great news is that you can use the Malaysia Grab app in Singapore just as easily as you would at home. This guide walks through all you need to know about how to use Grab Malaysia in Singapore, and also touches on how you can keep your currency conversion costs low, with Wise. Let’s dive right in.

How to use the Malaysia Grab app in Singapore

Many Malaysians are familiar with Grab - the Southeast Asian super app which helps us do everything from ride hailing and takeout, to sending a gift, getting a shopping delivery and paying with a quick scan of a QR in a store. But how does it work when you’re away from home? Can I use Grab Malaysia in Singapore or do I need to start handling cash again?

The great news for travellers is that Grab Malaysia can be used in Singapore completely seamlessly. In fact the app will switch location when it detects you’ve headed overseas and make sure it shows you the options relevant in your location.

As a business, Grab has focussed on making life easier for travellers specifically, launching features like translated merchant menus, destination guides for tourists, and foolproof descriptions of pickup points to help newcomers find their ride². This approach means it’s super simple to use Grab Malaysia when you travel to Singapore, so you can relax and get on with your break.

Restrictions when using Grab Malaysia in Singapore

One helpful note for using Grab Malaysia in Singapore - you’ll likely find the experience easier and cheaper if you have a linked debit or credit card, rather than using a prepaid Grab balance. If you have a Grab balance in MYR, it won’t be available for use in Singapore. Instead, this balance is put on hold, and you’ll need to add a SGD balance for use while spending in Singapore dollars instead.

That’s all a bit of a hassle - but it can be avoided completely if you just add a credit or debit card to Grab to make direct payments.

Grab accepts cards from more or less anywhere in the world³, so using a card also means you can continue to earn reward points on your Malaysian credit card if that’s your thing - or you can get low cost currency conversion with a flexible international card from a provider like Wise.

We’ll take a closer look at your Singapore payment options with Grab Malaysia next.

Payment methods for Grab Malaysia in Singapore

When you touch down in Changi, or pass over one of the border crossings, Grab will recognise you’re in Singapore. That means it’ll pick up local food options and detect the likely locations you’ll need to hire a car from, for example. One thing that doesn’t really change though is your payment options.

In Singapore, your Grab Malaysia app will offer you pretty much the same payment options you get at home - so you can select to create a prepaid balance in SGD, hand over cash, pay with a Malaysian card, or use a smart alternative like the Wise card.

As we’ve already mentioned, there’s no need to set up a prepaid balance in SGD if you don’t want to - the alternative options can be easier and even end up costing less in the end. Let’s explore.

Cash - Clear your extra notes and coins

Let’s start with paying for Grab services in cash. At home the chances are that you won’t use cash with Grab all that much, but it might be an option when you’re abroad if you’ve got some left over notes in SGD that you don’t want to convert back to ringgit.

The main downside to using cash in Singapore is that it’s not all that common - this might mean for example, that your Grab driver doesn’t have change in his wallet for larger notes, adding hassle. Using cash if you’re self collecting some food is likely easier, as stores will usually have cash on hand - but do try to have the right change to make your life simpler if you can.

Malaysian Debit or Credit Card - Earn extra points on overseas spend

If you’ve already got your Malaysian credit or debit card linked to Grab you can go right ahead and pay with this if you want. If you have a card which earns you reward points or cash back you’ll still get these when spending overseas - however, some cards will charge you a foreign transaction fee for SGD spending, which does push up costs in the end.

Check your card’s terms and conditions to see if a foreign transaction fee applies. To give an example, cards issued by Maybank in Malaysia usually have a 2.25% or 2.5% foreign transaction fee⁴, which is added to your costs every time you spend in any currency other than ringgit. You’ll need to weigh up the convenience of using your card, and the opportunity to earn cash back or rewards, against any extra fee to decide if it’s worthwhile.

Don’t want to pay an extra 2% or more every time you use a card overseas? We’ve got a smart alternative coming up next.

Wise card - Maximise your MYR to SGD conversions and use the same card no matter where you are

Not all cards charge a foreign transaction fee. Check out Wise as an innovative alternative which lets you spend globally with low costs and mid-market exchange rates.

You can open a Wise account online or in the Wise app, and order yourself a card for a low, one time fee. Add a balance in ringgit, and you can then either choose to convert it over to SGD in advance in your digital account or let the card manage the conversion for you when you pay.

No matter where in the world you’re headed, the smart autoconvert technology will detect the right currency to pay in, and manage the conversion with the mid-market exchange rate and low conversion fees from 0.43%. This means you avoid the foreign transaction fees charged by many banks.

Pricing/fees: Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information

💳 Order your very own Wise card

Whether you’re off to Singapore for business or pleasure, it’s a great destination. And because the Grab Malaysia app works seamlessly in Singapore, you’ve got one less thing to worry about while you’re away. Order yourself an international debit card from Wise to make Grab payments in foreign currencies easy and cheap - and you’ve got all you need to have a successful and fun-filled trip.