Grab and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) today announced a partnership to raise additional funds for supporting vulnerable communities, including those affected by disasters. The collaboration between the world’s largest humanitarian network and Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation and mobile payments platform will enable Grab users to convert their points into donations to the IFRC. Allowing donations via smartphone app is a first globally for the IFRC. This is the the next chapter of Grab and the IFRC working together to find innovative ways to support the disaster-prone Southeast Asian region, following an earlier partnership in 2016.

“Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions for disasters while a wide number of people are still struggling to access food, safe water, health services or basic livelihoods. Working together with the Red Cross and Red Crescent to fund their programmes and help people in crisis or despair echoes our mission to drive Southeast Asia forward. Grab wants to stand together with IFRC in responding to disasters and making vulnerable people more resilient. Using GrabRewards as a platform makes donating as easy as a tap on your phone. The points our passengers earn from their rides will now give them not just access to a wide range of retail and lifestyle products, but also create a deeper sense of purpose with every ride that they take with Grab,” said Jason Thompson, Managing Director, GrabPay Southeast Asia.

From Feb 6, 2017, Grab users in Philippines and other Southeast Asia countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam can visit their GrabRewards catalogue and convert their points into donations, with just a tap on their everyday app. Grab consumers in Philippines can do a donation starting at Php 50 in exchange for 600 GrabRewards points.

Pierre Kremer, IFRC Head of Partnerships for Asia Pacific said, “Grab’s history as a homegrown tech company and its extensive reach across Southeast Asia make it a natural partner for the IFRC. This is the first time we’ve partnered with a smartphone app to raise funds. We have in common a commitment to expand people-to-people connections and solidarity and contribute to build resilient communities, cities and countries. This is the commitment of the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and hundreds of thousands of volunteers working within communities in need. We are excited to work with Grab to explore new ways to tackle suffering and demonstrate the power of humanity in Southeast Asia.”

The IFRC will redistribute each country’s donation to the local Red Cross or Red Crescent Society, for use on that country’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Programmes include disaster risk reduction, improving safe water supplies, responding to volcanic eruptions, floods, cyclones or typhoons or epidemics, encouraging voluntary blood donations, and enhancing the protection of marginalised or vulnerable groups such as children or migrants.

The organisations have previously explored innovative ways of working together. In 2016, Grab and the IFRC engaged in a one-year partnership to promote road safety, provide emergency assistance and equip Grab’s fleet of drivers with life-saving skills and road safety knowledge across the region. The partnership upskilled Grab drivers with first aid and road safety techniques and drew on Grab’s driver fleets and call centres as a first-responder network during disaster and emergency situations.