Singapore’s UOB and South Korea’s Woori Card announce pioneering reciprocal card partnership

Singapore bank UOB and South Korean card leader Woori Card, a subsidiary of Woori Financial Group, have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)MoU) on an innovative reciprocal card partnership, under which cardholders of each company will be able to enjoy the privileges of the other’s cards in their respective key operating regions.

Under this partnership, the first between an ASEAN financial institution and a South Korean one, UOB credit and debit cardholders from across ASEAN travelling to South Korea will be able to enjoy the privileges that Woori cardholders are entitled to at relevant local merchants. In reciprocity, the nearly 12 million Woori cardholders visiting Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam will also be able to enjoy certain privileges offered by UOB cardholders.

The two companies will study the spending of their respective cardholders in each other’s countries to select the most desirable merchant privileges for their customers, focusing on categories such as retail, dining, tourist attractions, travel and accommodation. Some of the merchants that have already expressed interest in participating include fashion retailer Club 21, COMO Group’s food and beverage outlets and Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, along with South Korea’s Shinsegae Duty Free and SPC Group, famous for its food and beverage chains such as Paris Baguette, Baskin Robbins and Shake Shack.
The full list of trading privileges under the reciprocal partnership will be announced in the coming months.

UOB and Woori Card Mastercard cardholders will be able to take part in this innovative collaboration in Q4 2024, in time for the holiday travel season, with Visa cardholders expected to join in the near future.

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“Travel has seen a dramatic increase, especially in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of a broader consumer trend to prioritise spending on experiences. South Korea consistently features among the top destinations our customers like to visit, and our reciprocal partnership with Woori Card enables them to enjoy the best deals and privileges like a local in South Korea, while promoting Singapore and ASEAN as destinations preferred by South Koreans,” said Jacquelyn Tan, Group Head of Personal Financial Services at UOB.

“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 their parts. This reciprocal partnership underlines UOB’s commitment to serving the lifestyles and preferences of its customers through the travel and entertainment pillars of its card strategy.”

“We are delighted to make this announcement together with UOB. We strongly believe that this strategic partnership will increase our customers’ satisfaction as they enjoy various business privileges at their favourite travel destinations, provided by UOB,” said Andrew Park, Chief Digital Officer and Head, Group of Platform Business, Product Innovation and IT, Woori Card.

South Korea is the preferred travel destination for UOB cardholders

The idea for UOB’s reciprocal card partnership came about following UOB data showing South Korea as the preferred travel destination for the bank’s cardholders across ASEAN. South Korea is the most popular destination in the Asia-Pacific region1 for UOB cardholders across ASEAN, based on foreign exchange spend last year. Singaporean cardholders spent the most in South Korea in 2023, followed by their Thai and Malaysian counterparts.

In terms of driving growth in overseas UOB card spending, South Korea ranked second globally last year, with a year-on-year increase of 60%. Card spending growth was most pronounced among Indonesian cardholders, while those in Malaysia and Singapore ranked second and third respectively.

“Through this partnership, Woori Card is committed to providing the most relevant commerce offerings to UOB cardholders visiting South Korea. Leveraging our partnerships with key merchants most visited by UOB cardholders, we are planning to develop tailored commerce offerings and a seamless fulfillment process for UOB cardholders,” said Andrew Park of Woori Card.

Some of the retailers that have already expressed interest in participating include fashion retailer Club 21, COMO Group’s food and beverage establishments and Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands.

Overall, surveys show that South Korea was one of the top five tourist destinations that Singaporeans wanted to visit2 last year. Overall, surveys show that South Korea was one of the top five tourist destinations that Singaporeans wanted to visit2 last year. Statistics from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) released in February this year also show that South Koreans were among the top 10 international visitors to Singapore last year, spending more than S$500 million in tourism receipts.

Strengthening UOB and Woori Card’s leadership position in travel and leisure

This reciprocal partnership underlines UOB and Woori Card’s commitment to serving the lifestyles and preferences of both companies’ customers through the travel and entertainment pillars of their card strategy, and is expected to provide a knock-on boost to the tourism industries of Singapore, South Korea and ASEAN.

Of the four key spending pillars – shopping, dining, travel and leisure – the latter two were the fastest growing in terms of card turnover among UOB cardholders in the first quarter of this year. Travel spending grew by 23% and cross-border turnover also increased by 20%, while spending in the leisure category more than tripled over the same period.

In terms of acquiring merchants4, total spending on VISA and Mastercard credit and debit cards grew by almost 9% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year. Cards registered overseas led the growth, up by over 16% – more than double the turnover of domestic cards, which grew by 7.5% – likely due to the influx of tourists to Singapore for multiple world-class shows and events, such as the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour5, the Ed Sheeran + – = ÷ × Tour6, and the first-of-its-kind three-way partnership between UOB, STB and Marina Bay Sands.

It is also worth noting that while domestic card billing grew by 7.5%, spending by Singaporean UOB cardholders outpaced this figure, up by close to 20%.