Ravi Chandran
DBS and ComfortDelgro Taxi announce strategic payments partnership
- ComfortDelGro Taxi Booking App’s integration into DBS’ PayLah! ecosystem presents opportunities for dynamic customer interactions
- The partnership will also provide commuters with more ways to access and pay for their taxi bookings
DBS and ComfortDelGro Taxi on 25 June announced that the two parties have entered into a strategic partnership to enhance payment services for their customers in Singapore. Users can now book and pay for their ComfortDelGro taxi rides directly and seamlessly through an integrated in-app booking function on DBS PayLah!, one of Singapore’s leading platform apps with over 1.7 million users. They will enjoy the same booking and payment functionalities as offered by the ComfortDelGro Taxi Booking App, and are not required to download an additional app.
The announcement follows the rollout of DBS PayLah! as an in-app payment in the ComfortDelGro Taxi Booking App in March this year, where taxi passengers could select DBS PayLah! as a default QR Code payment option within the app.
Said Jeremy Soo, DBS’ Singapore Head of Consumer Banking Group, “ComfortDelGro Taxi is our first transport merchant partner to be onboarded onto the DBS PayLah! platform, joining others such as leading cinema exhibitor Golden Village and restaurant-reservation booking platform Chope. This marks a significant milestone in our journey to inject dynamism into our mobile ecosystem platform, where we leverage technology and artificial intelligence to proactively piece together individual journeys for our customers. In doing so, we can provide personalised nudges and contextualised offers which they will welcome as thoughtful reminders.
“For example, when a customer has booked tickets for a movie at Golden Village in VivoCity, our intelligent banking capabilities will be able to provide a timely reminder to book a taxi through ComfortDelGro Taxi an hour before. There is still so much more we could do with technology to create a truly intuitive customer experience. To augment this, we remain firmly committed to ramping up our platform partnerships with lifestyle merchants in Singapore, so that our customers can enjoy a wider variety of goods and services through our DBS PayLah! ecosystem.”
Mr Ang Wei Neng, CEO of ComfortDelGro Taxi, said: “Our partnership with DBS has come a long way and our collaborations have also grown over the years. We are glad to be the first transport operator to have the ComfortDelGro Taxi Booking App integrated into DBS PayLah! as we are always looking at ways to make taxi booking services more accessible to commuters. To help stop the spread of Covid-19, we also want to encourage commuters to switch to using in-app payments such as DBS PayLah! and to book a taxi through our apps so that contract tracing is easier.”
DBS and ComfortDelGro Taxi first partnered in 2017 to introduce QR code payment for taxi rides, which helped pave the way for consumers in Singapore to use QR code payments widely in everyday transactions. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, DBS recorded some 20% of QR code transactions which took place within the transport segment.
Earlier in February, both parties had also collaborated on an initiative to encourage commuters to use cashless payment for street hail fares to help facilitate contact tracing during the Covid-19 situation. Customers would get SGD 2 off and a 10% admin fee waiver with their DBS/POSB Card when they pay for their taxi fares via the ‘Pay for Street Hail’ feature on the ComfortDelGro Taxi Booking App. As of mid-June, over 50,000 redemptions had been made.
Added Soo, “We seek mutually beneficial relationships for our merchant partners in every collaboration that we do. The circuit breaker period has not been easy for most, and especially for those who work as freelancers. As services gradually resume during Phase 2 of Singapore’s reopening, we hope to help boost demand for our partners with our contextualised offers, and will double down on enabling our technology capabilities to do so.”
To commemorate this launch, DBS PayLah! users can redeem up to two SGD 5 instant rebates for ComfortDelGro taxi rides taken during the months of July and August 2020. DBS will also offer taxi passengers contextual offers or rebates from other DBS PayLah! partners such as Toast Box, KFC, and Foodpanda.
About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank’s “AA-” and “Aa1” credit ratings are among the highest in the world.
Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “World’s Best Bank” by Euromoney, “Global Bank of the Year” by The Banker and “Best Bank in the World” by Global Finance. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “Safest Bank in Asia” award by Global Finance for 11 consecutive years from 2009 to 2019.
DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.
With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all our 28,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities.
About ComfortDelGro
ComfortDelGro is one of the world’s largest land transport companies with a total fleet size of over 41,600 buses, taxis and rental vehicles. ComfortDelGro runs 83km of light and heavy rail networks in Singapore. ComfortDelGro’s global operations span seven countries – Singapore, Australia, China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Vietnam and Malaysia. In Singapore, ComfortDelGro Taxi operates about 10,000 taxis.
