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-   -   Grab (Vietnam) (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/2102178-grab-vietnam.html)

invisible Dec 2, 2022 9:35 am


Originally Posted by plunet (Post 34798107)
hopefully the US payment services industry can catch up quickly.

Hell will freeze faster...

Mrgolfer21 Dec 4, 2022 7:30 pm


Originally Posted by invisible (Post 34794390)
You have potentially two problems here - both or one of them completely block the transaction going thru.

The first problem is with Grab geofencing - not allowing you to open/use the card outside of their market areas. This is relatively easy to fix - go to your phone app settings, find Grab and deny location access - set it to Never. When you open the app next time it will complain that it can't access the location, click Cancel and instead select a location, you can set SGN for example. The app should work fine after that. Obviously, you need to change location access to Allow once you are in Vietnam.

The second problem, as already mentioned is with 3D Security - 3DS, basically 2FA, and the second factor for cards issued in Asia is 6/8 digit SMS code sent to the phone as an authentication. US issued card use a localized version of 3DS without SMS, which is done online. If you have ever seen the 'Verified by VISA' or 'Secured by Mastercard' pop-up/flash page when you made an online transaction with your US-issued card - this is it.
How to fix the above - you need to call your card issuer and ask them to put your call to 'VISA security/Verified by VISA' department - is not the card issuing bank blocking the transaction, it is done by VISA. Once you are on phone with VISA department (expect to go thru quite a serious KYC - they will ask questions from your credit history/accounts, I was asked for example what is the county's name where billing ZIP code of the card is) tell them that you are trying to make online purchase with an Asian vendor which asks for OTP and ask them to whitelist Grab in their system. They can do it while you are on phone and then once confirmed that they whilelisted Grab, you can open the app and add your card there and see how it works.

Background: I have been using Grab for >6 years and continue using it while still in the US to make some bill payments in Singapore. I have and used Chase Sapphire and Chase United Business cards with Grab without much problem by using both fixes described above:

This is great and thank you for the info. I know I've tried to add cards while in country as I read the same thing, but never could. However, I just followed your instructions on disabling location services and it worked! Just added my Chase Visa. Very excited for this and appreciate the post.

dgoedken Dec 6, 2022 6:19 pm

Yes, kudos/hat tip to Invisible. Just followed that process and the Venture X was added. I read on another thread about doing it while in the country, however, adds stress and "hope" one of the cards you brought with...works.

Thanks for enabling my upcoming trip to be that less worrisome.

Side note: I think a reason some CC companies don't allow text verification is b/c of spoofing/cloning someone's phone to receive said message, etc. It's in part why you're starting to see 2FA being pushed to consumers. That said, Americans don't like anything which makes it more difficult to spend $$, so rather than be secure, they'd rather be blissfully unaware While not 2FA, the newest Pixel is rolling out VPN, so that could be a future way to get around turning off location services for the app.

SanDiego1K Dec 6, 2022 9:18 pm

We're in Vietnam now and have successfully used Grab both to order food and to use a car. We had a challenge in Da Nang where we couldn't bring Grab up. We had a strong cellular connection but not wifi. Fortunately we were able to grab taxis at a cost that was several times the cost of Grab. But paying $8 instead of $2 (for example) is not a bad thing when it's raining and we'd like to move on.

SanDiego1K Dec 14, 2022 4:01 pm

Is GRAB able to pick up at the Saigon Airport International Terminal? Is there a designated pickup point?

invisible Dec 14, 2022 7:09 pm


Originally Posted by SanDiego1K (Post 34834834)
Is GRAB able to pick up at the Saigon Airport International Terminal? Is there a designated pickup point?

5 years ago it could. I remember that the app asks to pick up the exit door number.

P.S. One thing about grab in Vietnam and Indonesia - the driver might be a completely different person than the one shown in the app. It happened to me a couple of times. It does not necessarily mean scamming or something bad - one time to was the driver's wife, the second time - his friend or relative. If you are not comfortable, just skip/cancel.
Also, take the expected time of arrival with a big grain of salt, especially for airport pickup. In our case, 10 min ended up being 35.

SanDiego1K Dec 14, 2022 9:26 pm

We are using GRAB in Cambodia. It's cash only. It shows us the amount, we accept, and then we pay in cash when dropped off.

oishi Dec 17, 2022 10:27 pm


Originally Posted by invisible (Post 34835168)
5 years ago it could. I remember that the app asks to pick up the exit door number.

P.S. One thing about grab in Vietnam and Indonesia - the driver might be a completely different person than the one shown in the app. It happened to me a couple of times. It does not necessarily mean scamming or something bad - one time to was the driver's wife, the second time - his friend or relative. If you are not comfortable, just skip/cancel.
Also, take the expected time of arrival with a big grain of salt, especially for airport pickup. In our case, 10 min ended up being 35.

In Vietnam, I had once have the same driver as matching in the photo but in a different car! Since we wanted to go a lot further than his usual passengers, he decided to swap to a bigger car. I had my doubts at first but he knew exactly the destination as what I put in the app and there was no other issues.

SanDiego1K Dec 18, 2022 7:06 pm

We tried to get a car at the International Terminal. We got the notice that a car accepted but we could never find it. We ended up taking a taxi which was very affordable. We were charged 10,000 VND or $.42 for not meeting the Grab car. We liked using Grab a lot but it could be tricky getting it to the address where we were. More than not, the driver only accepted cash.

Alinsfca Dec 19, 2022 8:20 am


Originally Posted by SanDiego1K (Post 34845408)
We tried to get a car at the International Terminal. We got the notice that a car accepted but we could never find it. We ended up taking a taxi which was very affordable. We were charged 10,000 VND or $.42 for not meeting the Grab car. We liked using Grab a lot but it could be tricky getting it to the address where we were. More than not, the driver only accepted cash.

Thanks for the cash reminder. I am arriving SGN at 6 am in the morning. I was worried about the Grab and taxi situation so early, so I arranged for a hotel pickup at the airport. But I will definitely use Grab when in town.

AUCLABruin Dec 20, 2022 9:13 am


Originally Posted by Alinsfca (Post 34846562)
Thanks for the cash reminder. I am arriving SGN at 6 am in the morning. I was worried about the Grab and taxi situation so early, so I arranged for a hotel pickup at the airport. But I will definitely use Grab when in town.

If you are coming in from another country when using Grab, it might not let you book with a credit card immediately. I flew in from BKK to Hanoi (where I used Grab) and it did not let my payment via credit card go through when I ordered a Grab to get to the Old Quarter. It did let me go through with a cash fare. The next day, Grab worked just fine when I ordered a ride, so this might be something to keep in mind.

As for the airport, I didn't have Grab set up in Bangkok, but I used Grab with no hiccups at HAN, SGN and DPS.

AUCLABruin Dec 20, 2022 9:14 am


Originally Posted by oishi (Post 34843467)
In Vietnam, I had once have the same driver as matching in the photo but in a different car! Since we wanted to go a lot further than his usual passengers, he decided to swap to a bigger car. I had my doubts at first but he knew exactly the destination as what I put in the app and there was no other issues.

This happened to me in Bali. It's rare based on all the rides (both in cars and motorcycles) I had but it does happen. If it doesn't feel right, it's best to cancel.

SanDiego1K Dec 20, 2022 10:57 am

Are we able to use Grab in Singapore?

oishi Dec 20, 2022 6:13 pm


Originally Posted by SanDiego1K (Post 34850324)
Are we able to use Grab in Singapore?

Yes (the app works in the countries Grab operate in), and there are other providers too but I think this is straying from the thread.

invisible Dec 21, 2022 7:07 pm


Originally Posted by SanDiego1K (Post 34850324)
Are we able to use Grab in Singapore?

Sure. Grab is (was - no idea what the situation looks like now) a good option to go to the city from Changi, however, MRT is good as well. Taxis now charge $8 surcharge when leaving from the airport. The same applies to the city center where $5 surcharge applies.

Just watch for surge pricing


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