UOB and Lazada Group have entered a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on retail products and banking solutions for their combined customer base in five key Southeast Asian markets, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
This regional strategic partnership will also see the two industry leaders working together to increase access to financing for e-commerce sellers on the Lazada platform.
This will be Lazada’s first partnership with a bank across a variety of payments and financial services in Southeast Asia, as well as UOB’s first regional collaboration with an e-commerce platform.
The partnership will tap on Lazada’s technology and position as a leading Southeast Asian e-commerce platform and UOB’s proven expertise in financial products, best-in-class digital banking services and long-established trust with customers.
This will allow both customers and sellers to enjoy better access and enhanced benefits from payment and financial services that best meet their needs.
UOB Head Of Group Wholesale Banking And Markets Frederick Chin said, “ASEAN plays a strategic role as an economic powerhouse to the world. As a bank with strong presence in ASEAN, our ambition is to open doors to new business opportunities across the region.”
In Singapore, UOB will offer new customers Lazada cashback vouchers worth up to $200 as a welcome gift. With UOB’s acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking businesses in four ASEAN markets, the bank will be continuing the partnership of the Citi-Lazada co-brand credit cards in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. In these three markets, the cards will be refreshed as new UOB-Lazada co-brand credit cards later this year with enhanced benefits.
UOB and Lazada will look to extend the co-brand credit card partnership to Singapore and Indonesia. Apart from enjoying attractive Lazada rewards all year round, cardholders will gain access to special Lazada deals during mega sale events.
As Lazada expands its localised payments and financial services products throughout the region, the e-commerce platform and UOB also intend to collaborate on cash management and transaction processing services for Lazada sellers across the region.
The two partners are also looking into offering loans to sellers on the Lazada platform through a new digital lending experience. Leveraging Lazada’s seller insights and UOB’s digital banking capabilities with integrated financial supply chain management solutions, the collaboration will focus on giving sellers access to streamlined onboarding, approval and disbursement processes for loans and financing across their businesses. Both parties are working toward a pilot launch this year.
