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UOB fuels ASEAN ambitions through Citi acquisition and customer centricity

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  • Jan 01, 1970
  • 12 min read

UOB’s acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking in ASEAN boosts its regional retail presence, enhancing its position through personalised services and strong partnerships to meet customers’ lifestyle, payments, and wealth needs

  • UOB's acquisition of Citigroup's ASEAN-4 consumer banking portfolio has accelerated its regional growth ambitions by five years
  • Strategic partnerships with established regional and global brands in dining, travel and retail offer customers across ASEAN a unique regional proposition of exclusive rewards and privileges
  • UOB’s TMRW mobile app harnesses the power of AI in delivering personalisation at scale through customised financial insights tailored to customers’ preferences

United Overseas Bank’s (UOB) acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam has helped scale up UOB’s ASEAN retail business outside Singapore, demonstrating the Bank’s commitment to the region, and advancing its position as a leading ASEAN bank.

With UOB’s strategic focus on personalisation and leveraging strong partnership ecosystems, the Bank is well-placed to serve the lifestyle, payments and wealth management needs of its regional customers.

UOB has doubled its retail franchise in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam—'ASEAN-4’—with the acquisition, significantly accelerating UOB’s growth targets by five years. Following the successful migration of former Citigroup customers in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand onto UOB’s platforms, the bank is on track to complete the operational integration for Vietnam in 2025.

Scaling regional franchises while reinforcing strength on the home front

With organic expansion, UOB’s retail customer base in ASEAN has surpassed eight million customers. The acquisition has built stronger resilience in UOB’s business model with increased geographic and revenue diversification. With Citigroup’s portfolio more geared towards the cards business and unsecured lending alongside UOB’s attractive card propositions and offerings, total income from UOB’s unsecured business more than doubled in ASEAN-4 markets. UOB’s credit card fees reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2023, driven by contributions from the expanded regional franchise and robust consumer spending throughout the region, where cross-border billings grew 79% year-on-year (YoY).

With UOB’s increased presence in ASEAN, the bank has solidified its leading position in card issuance and billings across the region. This has also enabled the bank to forge strategic partnerships with established regional brands, allowing UOB customers to enjoy the same perks and privileges across ASEAN-4. UOB has focused on building a strong partnership ecosystem with 360º customer value propositions centred on dining, shopping, travel and entertainment, enhancing the bank’s offering of rewards tailored to the customers’ unique lifestyles.

Robust partnership ecosystem in lifestyle and entertainment

Some of the bank’s notable new partnerships in 2023 include the world-first regional collaboration with Robert Parker Wine Advocate, and Britain’s foremost designer, Paul Smith, for exclusive merchandise in spend-and-get campaigns. UOB has also offered customers exclusive access to regional entertainment tie-ups, including being the Official Bank and Presale Partner for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour in Singapore, and the Regional Presenting Sponsor for the Ed Sheeran Mathematics Tour.

At UOB, customer centricity is at the bank's core, driving innovation and a curated range of products and solutions to meet customers’ financial and lifestyle needs and preferences. Leveraging data insights on how its customers live, work, and play across UOB’s extensive regional footprint in ASEAN-4, the bank focuses on delivering personalised experiences through physical and digital channels, underscoring UOB’s ambition to be the bank of choice for aspiring individuals throughout the ASEAN-4 countries.

Personalising the experience for every customer

In 2023, UOB served close to 180 million insights to their customers via the UOB TMRW app that allows customers to be in control of their money through timely reminders, alerts and notifications. As the bank learns more about customers’ behaviours and preferences, new insights such as the market outlook, and products and recommendations are introduced to customers to enhance the value proposition further.

UOB leverages its AI-powered merchant recommender engine model for region-specific, curated rewards for customers through the Rewards+ programme. For example, customers who spend more on dining will receive timely prompts on exclusive dining deals for UOB cardholders based on their travel location.

As UOB continues to develop and roll out new capabilities to enhance its customers’ digital experience, the bank remains committed to deepening and customising its engagement with customers seamlessly across the region.

Jacquelyn Tan, Head of Group Personal Financial Services at UOB, said that initiatives are offered through the unified Rewards+ across ASEAN-4. As the first bank in the region to offer a consolidated rewards wallet with transparent data on earned rewards, customers can browse both local and regional deals, redeem rewards and pay with points.

These developments have contributed to significant increases in UOB’s Brand Preference and Brand Perception, and significantly improved customer acquisition momentum, firmly positioning UOB to achieve its ambition of becoming the preferred bank for aspiring ASEAN customers.

    Institutions:
  • OCBC