UOB and Grab have announced the first of a series of digital initiatives that they’ll bring to market in 2019 as part of the strategic alliance.
The strategic alliance was announced in November 2018. For a start, consumers can now apply for UOB One Card directly from the Grab app or by scanning QR codes found in Grab cars in Singapore. UOB cardmembers will also enjoy a suite of privileges when they use Grab services.
Down the road, UOB and Grab will be integrating the Bank’s extensive rewards and dining privileges programmes into the Grab app. For example, UOB cardmembers will be able to convert their UNI$, which is the Bank’s credit card rewards points, to GrabReward points and vice versa. UOB will also integrate Grab’s booking function into UOB Mighty, the Bank’s all-in-one mobile banking app. Grab’s ride-hailing feature will be paired with UOB Mighty’s restaurant reservation portal which has more than 500 dining deals, enabling UOB customers to book for their next meal and their next ride seamlessly.
Ms Jacquelyn Tan, Head of Personal Financial Services Singapore, UOB, said the new joint initiative is in keeping with the Bank’s approach to build partnership ecosystems and to make banking more accessible by extending its touchpoints to areas that intersect with consumers’ lifestyles.
“Our alliance with Grab enables us to create greater value for our customers who commute a lot. In the past year alone, UOB cardmembers took an average of close to a million Grab rides a month. This makes the Grab app an ideal platform on which customers can enjoy special privileges and make selected banking transactions, whether it is applying for a new UOB credit card or paying for their rides using their reward points,” Ms Tan said.
Under the alliance, Grab will also be able to tap UOB’s extensive network of more than 500 merchants in Singapore to connect with new business partners. This could help drive Grab’s merchant network for the other services including food delivery, e-payment and parcel delivery.
Ms Ooi Huey Tyng, Managing Director of GrabPay Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, said, “We are excited to bring the benefits of our regional partnership with UOB to our users in Singapore. With Grab’s and UOB’s strengths, we are confident that we can make paying for daily transactions with Grab easier and ultimately move more consumers from cash to cashless.”
UOB and Grab have announced the first of a series of digital initiatives that they’ll bring to market in 2019 as part of the strategic alliance. The strategic alliance was announced in November 2018.
