The program allowed customers to earn GrabRewards when they made purchases at certain merchant partners using either their real or virtual card. It was run in tandem with the company's e-wallet service, GrabPay Wallet.

However, the company confirmed on its website that it would be ending the program. It cited observations of "much higher adoption and use of other Grab offerings," specifically its PayLater offering, which was introduced in 2020, as the reason for the decision to "concentrate our efforts on refining these products."

The firm states that as of April 1st, new card applications are no longer being accepted, although replacement card requests can still be submitted through April 30th.

The linked rewards program for the card will thereafter be available until May 31. Users who have a physical or digital GrabPay Card will no longer be able to transact online or offline as of June 1.

The action follows Grab's announcement in September of last year that it would be discontinuing its retail investment products due to its determination to be “not commercially viable.” The company also pledged to refocus its efforts on other profitable product lines.

According to the company's most recent full-year statistics, its financial services division brought in 162% more revenue than the previous year, or $184 million.

The demise of the GrabPay Card may have resulted from the emergence of GXBank, a Malaysian digital bank that was established in September as a joint venture between Grab and Singtel of Singapore.

With its own card program, the digital bank says it has 100,000 depositors in just two weeks, and 79% of customers came from Grab directly.