Singapore, Nov. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — StraitsX, part of the Southeast Asia Digital Financial Services Group, Fazz and Grab, a leading super app in Southeast Asia, announced today that they will test the issuance of Purpose Bound Money (PBM) in the form of commercial digital vouchers during the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) 2022.
During SFF, 5,000 selected trial participants will be able to use PBM1 in the form of digital vouchers through their preferred blockchain e-wallet application. They can use the vouchers sponsored by Temasek to make purchases at selected F&B outlets at SFF 2022, as well as participating in Grab’s merchant partners such as Ishiro at the Expo and Flash Coffee, Han’s, Hotpot by Seoul Garden and LiHo at Changi City Punkt.
GrabPay, Grab’s payment service, is working with StraitsX and digital currency payment gateway TripleA to support the last mile settlement of PBMs. This is done by accepting StraitsX’s XSGD on the Polygon chain, and reflecting the Singapore dollar-pegged stablecoin as SGD in the participating merchants’ GrabPay accounts. GrabPay will also be the main payment processor for the PBM pilot at SFF this year – it will pay out participating merchants in SGD on demand, removing any need for merchants to invest in end-of-day reconciliation between two accounting systems.
“We see this as transformative for the development of digital assets, as PBMs can form a new foundational infrastructure for payments, ensuring secure transactions, ease of use and seamless integration. Building on the work StraitsX has done with the Singapore dollar stablecoin, XSGD, the issuance of PBMs further how blockchain technology and stablecoins can be used in real-world scenarios. We are excited to work with industry leaders like Grab to showcase how the programmability and interoperability of stablecoins can make payment systems more efficient, environmentally friendly, and inclusive,” said Liu Tianwei, Deputy CEO in Fazz.
“We believe technology can be leveraged to economically empower our communities in Southeast Asia. Blockchain technology and digital asset applications have the ability to accelerate financial inclusion. This pilot with StraitsX and MAS is a great opportunity for us to test how the technology can be used to benefit the everyday user We are excited to have our merchant partners participate in this pilot and with their feedback we hope to uncover more ways to help our users seamlessly engage with this technology and reap the benefits .” said Wong Wenbin, head of GrabFin Singapore.
About the pilot
PBM is being explored as part of Project Orchid, building on the concept and possibilities of both programmable payment and programmable money. This pilot project will delve into the enablement of PBM for widespread distribution of money for commercial purposes, and its interoperability with e-wallets, payment systems and rails and blockchains, allowing consumers to purchase goods and services through their preferred platform with PBM tokens.
PBM will enable individuals and organizations to embed logic-based relationships in the form of smart contracts that are automatically verified when submitted for transfers. At the same time, payments can be made more efficient, as the PBM token will unpack and release the underlying digital currency, transferring it to a merchant’s digital wallet in real time. The digital currency can then be used by the recipient immediately for other payments. In this pilot, the digital currency will be reflected as SGD and paid out to the participating merchants in SGD.
Apart from StraitsX, Grab and Temasek, other supporting partners include: ADDX, AltLayer, Automata, Coinbase Wallet, Digital Treasures Center (DTC), Fomopay, Sequence, TripleA, Trust Wallet and VISA.
This pilot is part of Project Orchid, first announced at SFF 2021, to explore the basic technological infrastructure and technical expertise needed to issue central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Project Orchid builds on the key learnings from the Global CBDC Challenge, which was organized by MAS and its global partners, including the IMF, World Bank and ADB, innovative solutions were sought to improve payment efficiency and promote financial inclusion. StraitsX was among 15 finalists selected from over 300 applications representing over 50 countries.
The results of this program will be used to inform the future phases of Project Orchid in the design and selection of infrastructure for a digital Singapore dollar.
1PBM refers to a protocol that specifies the conditions under which an underlying digital currency can be used. PBMs are carrier instruments, with independent programming logic and can be transferred between two parties without an intermediary.
###
About StraitsX
StraitsX is the pioneering digital asset payment infrastructure in Southeast Asia. StraitsX is a major payments institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and is part of Fazz’s financial services ecosystem operating commercial banking in Southeast Asia. StraitsX offers private and corporate account holders to create and redeem StraitsX stablecoins, manage payments as well as connect their accounts to digital asset platforms. Business accounts can also access B2B API-enabled payment rails for digital asset platforms.
About Grab
Grab is a leading super app in Southeast Asia. Grab operates across deliveries, mobility and digital financial services in over 480 cities in eight countries in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Every day, Grab gives millions of people access to its driver and trading partners to order food or groceries, send packages, take a ride or taxi, pay for online purchases or access services such as lending, insurance, wealth management and telemedicine, all through a single ” everyday everything” app.
Grab was founded in 2012 with the mission to drive Southeast Asia forward by creating economic empowerment for all, and since then the Grab app has been downloaded onto millions of mobile devices. Grab strives to serve a triple bottom line: to simultaneously deliver financial results for its shareholders and have a positive social and environmental impact in Southeast Asia.
