Grab's platform still down for some as system upgrade backfires

SOME Grab users across South-east Asia are still having problems with the app more than a day after the platform's widespread hours-long outage on Tuesday (Nov 16) morning.

The ride hailing and food delivery giant is struggling to get its platform back up fully. A planned upgrade to one of its systems backfired, causing some services to be "degraded", Grab said in response to queries by The Business Times on Wednesday (Nov 17).

The Singapore-based company added that "its core services" have been restored but "a small segment may still experience minor issues". It is still working on completing the upgrade and reiterated that no customer data has been breached during the time its platform was down.

Users across South-east Asia, including Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, took to social media to flag that their GrabPay wallet was not working, and that they were unable to order groceries on GrabMart. Features on the driver app were also not available, some drivers said.

Facebook user HK Yap commented: "Why can't (Grab) just be transparent on what services are facing intermittent issues and do a public announcement advising users to avoid services such as payment-related services for now? How are we able to trust your digital bank in the future? 24 hours of service disruption is not acceptable for a super app."

Grab operates ride hailing, food delivery and digital financial services across 8 countries in South-east Asia, including Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. It is the dominant player in the region, where millions depend on the tech company for transport, payments and food delivery. Over 670 million people have downloaded its app, Grab said.

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The disruption marks another bump on the road as Grab prepares to close its US$39.6 billion merger with Nasdaq-listed Altimeter Growth Corp. Just days before, it posted its last set of financial results before the expected listing, which highlighted widening losses and slipping revenues as the pandemic weighed on its ride hailing business.

Grab assured the public that it is still on track to complete its merger - one of the largest-ever with a SPAC - this quarter, following a delay caused by a review of its financials.

READ MORE:

• Grab's Q3 net loss widens to almost US$1 billion, revenue slips ahead of US listing as pandemic hits ride-hailing

• Grab services disrupted in Singapore and other key South-east Asian markets

• Valuation metrics favoured by digital economy firms going public need a long, hard look