Grab aims for 'next level' in financial services with purchase of buy-now pay-later platform Atome
- ID
- 24972
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 16 Sep 2026, 12:31 PM
- Fetched
- 16 Sep 2026, 1:11 PM
- Provider
- CNBC Technology
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/16/grab-financial-services-atome-purchase-.html
- Source URL
- https://www.cnbc.com/id/19854910/device/rss/rss.html
Summary
- Score
- 6.5
- Created
- 16 Sep 2026, 1:12 PM
- Tags
- Audience
- saas_foundersdevelopers
What happened
Grab is acquiring a 60% controlling stake in Singapore-based BNPL platform Atome Financial for $1.49 billion in cash, with plans to buy the remaining 40% roughly two years later. CFO Peter Oey called consumer lending the 'next frontier' for Grab's financial services expansion. Grab shares closed 3.64% lower on Nasdaq following the announcement.
Why it matters
Grab's move into BNPL/consumer lending across SEA means fintech builders and SaaS founders in Malaysia should expect Grab Financial to compete more directly in payments, credit, and checkout flows—potentially displacing third-party BNPL integrations on regional e-commerce platforms. If you build or integrate payment/checkout tooling for SEA merchants, evaluate whether Grab's expanded financial services roadmap changes your partnership or integration strategy.
Discussion angle
What does Grab owning Atome mean for the competitive landscape of BNPL and embedded lending in Malaysia—does this consolidate the market or open integration opportunities for local merchants and platforms?