United Overseas Bank (UOB) and Lazada Group will collaborate on retail products and banking solutions for their combined customer base in five Southeast Asian markets – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The partnership will see the companies working together to increase access to financing for e-commerce sellers on the Lazada platform.

Frederick Chin, head of group wholesale banking and markets at UOB, and James Dong, chief executive officer of Lazada Group, on Monday (April 17) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in a move towards the regional strategic partnership.

It will be Lazada’s first partnership with a bank across a variety of payments and financial services in Southeast Asia, and UOB’s first regional collaboration with an e-commerce platform.

The collaboration aims to tap on Lazada’s technology and position as a major e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, and UOB’s expertise in financial products, digital banking services and building customer trust.

Customers can look forward to a more rewarding experience when shopping on Lazada’s e-commerce platform and using UOB’s lifestyle banking services for their purchases, according to the companies. Singapore customers will be the first to enjoy these benefits, including cashback vouchers worth up to S$200 (US$150) as a welcome gift.

With UOB’s acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer banking businesses in four Asean markets (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam), the Singaporean lender 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 are also looking to extend the 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, the companies say.