Travel has overtaken fashion as the top spending item for younger women, according to United Overseas Bank, which studied its female customers' spending patterns.

Women are also spending more on transport, given the increasing popularity of ride-hailing apps such as Grab and Gojek. The increase is also because more taxis have started to accept credit card payments, a UOB spokesman said in a statement.

The bank's insights are based on the spending patterns of its female credit card members between 2013 and last year.

About 700,000 women in the region have the UOB Lady's Card, and the bank serves one in two women here, he added, without revealing full figures.

The top seven spending categories for women grew 26 per cent between 2016 and last year, and they account for "more than half of all spend made on the UOB Lady's Card" during the time period, the spokesman said. The categories are fashion, travel, dining, beauty and wellness, family, entertainment and transport.

Fashion made up 23 per cent of total card spending last year, down 10 percentage points compared with 2013, for women aged 18 to 25. It also fell 8 per cent to 24 per cent for women aged 26 to 35.

Spending on transport increased by 2 percentage points over five years to 11 per cent last year for women aged 18 to 25.

The statement did not provide transport spending figures for those aged between 26 and 35.

The bank did not provide figures for travel spending, but said that women aged between 26 and 35 spent more on travelling than those between 18 and 25.

It added that women aged 36 and above are also spending more on their families, compared with 2013. "Spending priorities for women (aged 36 and above) have largely stayed the same... More is being spent on the family (including) their children, infant wear and groceries," the bank's spokesman said.

Spending on family rose by 5 per cent, accounting for 12 per cent of their overall spending.

Correction note: This article has been edited for clarity.