Grab has agreed to acquire a controlling 60% stake in Atome Financial for $1.49 billion in cash, the Singapore-based group announced on September 15, 2026, at 8 p.m. Singapore time (2 p.m. in Paris). Best known for ride-hailing and food delivery, Grab is buying one of Southeast Asia’s leading digital finance platforms, built on buy now, pay later (BNPL), from its parent, Advance Intelligence Group, and other shareholders.
Atome lends in five Southeast Asian markets
Atome Financial offers BNPL loans, cards, consumer cash loans, and digital lending in five countries: Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. Grab’s announcement cites 25 million cumulative transacted users, a gross loan portfolio of $1 billion, and more than 30,000 partner brands.
The deal comes in two phases, and the price of the second is already set by formula. About two years after the first phase closes, Grab will buy the remaining 40% at a valuation based on Atome’s results at that point. That shifts part of the execution risk back onto the sellers.
| Phase | Stake | Price | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 60% | $1.49B in cash, including $0.26B of primary growth capital | Closing expected in Q3 2027 |
| Phase 2 | 40% | 13.0x annualized adjusted EBITDA (75% weight) and 2.5x annualized revenue (25% weight), with a floor of $2.0B and a cap of $4.5B | About two years after Phase 1 closes |
Grab is buying an underwriting engine
Grab had no shortage of customers or payment data. What it lacked was an underwriting engine proven on consumers that banks serve poorly. “Atome Financial’s leading use of AI to underwrite digital lending to millions of users across the region, while managing risk effectively, will help to scale and strengthen Grab’s whole ecosystem,” said Alex Hungate, Grab’s president and chief operating officer.
Hungate also pointed to Grab’s own lending to drivers: “In 2025, 68 percent of driver-partner borrowers accessed formal credit for the first time through Grab, with half noting they did so to avoid predatory lenders.” The pitch is commercial as much as political. In markets where cards are still used by a minority, short-term credit has become the way into the financial system.
The deal underpins Grab’s 2028 targets
- $500 million in adjusted EBITDA for the financial services segment in 2028
- A combined gross loan portfolio of more than $6 billion by the same date
- $1.7 billion in group adjusted EBITDA in 2028
- Group revenue growth of more than 30% a year from 2025 to 2028
Standalone BNPL is losing ground to platforms
Independent BNPL providers were built on a simple promise: convert better than a card at checkout. That promise is now worth less on its own than attached to a distribution platform, where the cost of acquiring the customer has already been paid. Grab’s purchase of Atome puts Southeast Asia on the same path as Europe and North America, where BNPL has moved into wallets, banks, and marketplaces.
For merchants in the region, the practical effect will show up in the terms they are offered. A BNPL product backed by Grab’s traffic negotiates from a different position than one that has to pay for its own visibility. For competitors, the question is now distribution more than credit risk.