SINGAPORE – United Overseas Bank (UOB) has launched a new partnership ecosystem, making it simpler for customers to make payments on various apps and use rewards points to offset their utility bills.

The bank has partnered Visa to use a new Visa application programming interface (API) that enables customers to add their Visa credit and debit cards securely into third-party apps using the UOB Mighty mobile banking app, without the need for a physical card.

This means that customers no longer need to key in their 16-digit card number, expiry date and card security code manually.

In addition, new customers will no longer need to wait for their credit and debit cards to be delivered to them before they can make purchases.

All UOB credit and debit cards are reflected on UOB Mighty once the applications for the cards have been approved. Customers simply need to log into the UOB Mighty app and choose the card they wish to add on their preferred third-party app. They will then be automatically directed to the selected app to confirm their choice.

The entire process can be completed within seconds on their mobile phones, said the bank on Thursday (Sept 24).

Customers can use this new service for Fitbit Pay for their UOB Visa cards from Thursday. The service will also be available on the Fave, Grab and Shopee apps for UOB Visa and Mastercard cards in the coming months.

UOB has also partnered national power grid operator SP Group to allow customers to offset their SP utility bills with the bank’s rewards points, or UNI$.

Through a UOB API used by SP Group, customers simply need to choose the option of using their UNI$ points when they make payment on SP’s utilities app.

Customers therefore no longer need to redeem a voucher through the bank’s digital banking services or wait seven working days to receive and use the voucher.

UOB has also enabled customers to redeem their rewards points instantly on Singapore Airlines’ KrisPay app. It said it will progressively expand its network of partners to bring similar digital payments and rewards redemption solutions to more customers.

UOB head of group personal financial services Jacquelyn Tan said: “Whether our customers are banking on our mobile banking app UOB Mighty or making payments on our partners’ apps, our aim is to create an intuitive experience and to remove any disruptions or detours to their digital journey.”

Mr Kunal Chatterjee, Visa country manager for Singapore and Brunei, noted that UOB is its first partner globally to launch Visa’s API initiative with Fitbit Pay.

“As we continue to add new wallets and merchants to the ecosystem, Visa cardholders will be able to manage their digital credentials seamlessly and centrally from UOB Mighty, creating an improved and more secure experience,” he said.

Mr Wong Yu Hsiang, SP Group’s head (products, sales and marketing) of SP Digital, said the company’s collaboration with UOB is an addition to its suite of features on the app for customers to monitor their consumption and manage their bills conveniently.

The company has more than 700,000 households using the SP Utilities app to manage their utility bills.

Mr Wong added: “We will also enable more options to bring greater convenience to our customers soon.”

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