United Overseas Bank (UOB) and South Korea’s Woori Card jointly announced, on July 17, that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a reciprocal card partnership. Woori Card is a subsidiary of Korean-listed Woori Financial Group.
This partnership, a first between an Asean and a South Korean financial institution, enables UOB cardholders across Asean travelling to South Korea to enjoy privileges that Woori Card cardholders are entitled to at relevant local merchants.
This partnership also similarly allows Woori cardholders visiting Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam to partake in selected UOB cardholder privileges.
Through this partnership, both companies aim to study their respective cardholder spends in each other’s countries to pick out the merchant privileges that are most desirable to their customers. This spans across categories such as retail, dining, tourist attractions, travel and accommodation.
Some merchants who have already expressed interest in participating include fashion retailer Club 21, COMO Group dining establishments and Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, together with South Korea’s Shinsegae Duty Free and SPC Group.
The full list of merchant privileges under the reciprocal partnership will be announced in the coming months.
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Some of UOB's credit cards. Photo: UOB
UOB and Woori Card Mastercard holders will be able to take part in this collaboration by 4Q2024. Visa cardholders are expected to join in the near future.
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“We thank Woori Card for embarking on this pioneering reciprocal partnership with us, with the mutual strength of our card offerings giving our cardholders benefits that are greater than the sum of its parts,” says Jacquelyn Tan, head of group personal financial services at UOB.
According to data from UOB, South Korea is the most popular Asia Pacific destination for UOB cardholders across Asean based on foreign exchange spent last year.
In terms of growth momentum for overseas UOB card spend, South Korea ranked second globally last year, experiencing a 60% surge year-on-year. Growth in card spend was most pronounced among Indonesia cardholders, with Malaysia and Singapore cardholders coming second and third respectively.
“By leveraging our ongoing partnerships with key merchants most visited by UOB cardholders, we are planning to develop tailored merchant offers and a seamless fulfilment process for UOB cardholders,” adds Andrew Park, chief digital officer and head of group of platform business, product Innovation and IT at Woori Card.
As at its 1QFY2024 ended March results, UOB reported credit card fees of $90 million, 11% higher y-o-y.
While domestic card billings in Singapore have grown by 7.5% y-o-y in 1Q2024, Singapore UOB cardholder spend has outpaced this figure, surging by close to 20%.
