ePemula: Grab users complained of getting RM150 vouchers instead of credit

GrabPay is one of the eWallets identified by the government for the ePemula initiative. The initiative wants “help promote cashless transactions” by letting you claim a one-off eWallet credit of RM150 starting today until 1 June—but only if you’re between the ages of 18 to 20, or are a full-time university student. However, several users have complained that the “RM150 credit” on the Grab app is actually just vouchers.

I’ve initially written a piece today on what the most “worth it” eWallet is for this initiative. However, SoyaCincau BM writer, Hanif, noticed that something was amiss with Grab’s ePemula offer. While other eWallets like BigPay, Touch ‘n Go eWallet, and Shopee offer actual RM150 credit that can be used for offline purchases, Grab writes something different on their page about ePemula.

Grab is offering “RM360 worth of vouchers”—which includes RM150 for ePemula, RM150 for GrabFood, and RM60 for merchant promotions. Does this mean that the RM150 that’s supposed to be for ePemula credit is only just vouchers through GrabPay?

After Hanif asked our readers on our RKMD page if anyone who has claimed ePemula with Grab can confirm this, he received a few replies. A couple of commenters sent screenshots confirming that when you claim the ePemula credit with the Grab app, you’ll only receive vouchers—and they’re also several small vouchers meant for separate purchases.

Many users have complained that Grab had “scammed” them, as the eligible users who claimed with Grab aren’t even given the proper RM150 worth of credit. Rightfully, users would be able to get a full RM150 for any offline transactions with the eWallet. So, if the user chooses to spend that full RM150 in one go for an offline transaction, they should be able to. With Grab’s “vouchers”, users aren’t able to do that.  According to their terms and conditions, their ePemula “reward” is only “valid with a minimum spend of RM5/RM10/RM15/RM20/RM30”.

The RM150 ePemula credit is easily credited to the other three eWallets. Vouchers are also offered by Touch ‘n Go eWallet, BigPay, and Shopee—but they’re additional offers. You can read more in my run-down. As for now, Grab has been replying to tweets and comments that are complaining about the vouchers by saying that users will “get another RM150 worth of GrabFood Hot Deals vouchers and RM60 worth of various merchant partner vouchers”. But is that a good enough deal?

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