Under-35s are UOB’s fastest-growing card spenders, especially for travel and dining
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Among Singapore holders of UOB cards, the under-35s’ spending grew 34 per cent year on year compared with the overall rise of 14 per cent.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – Singapore holders of UOB cards shelled out significantly more in 2024 than they did in 2023, with those under the age of 35 chalking up the highest growth in spending.
The under-35s’ spending grew 34 per cent year on year compared with the overall rise of 14 per cent.
They spent 47 per cent more on travel, 43 per cent more on dining, 26 per cent more on entertainment, and 24 per cent more on shopping in 2024 over 2023.
The bank said on March 14 in a report that this younger cohort made up three in five of new-to-bank (NTB) customers with UOB, with eight out of 10 of the NTB customers taking up a credit or debit card.
In Singapore specifically, card holder spending across all age groups increased the most for dining (21 per cent) and travel (17 per cent), followed by entertainment (10 per cent) and shopping (9 per cent) in 2024.
The bank also said the increased spending can be linked to its partnership with concert and other entertainment providers. UOB would typically give card holders a pre-sale benefit to some in-demand concerts
It was reported that UOB’s card holders, who had exclusive pre-sale ticket access to singer Taylor Swift’s 2024 Eras Tour concerts
UOB followed up with other popular acts including South Korean boy band Stray Kids in September and Cantopop legend Andy Lau in October the same year.
Other banks here also have benefits for card holders when it comes to concerts. For example, DBS Bank offers discounts or cashback on concert ticket purchases, and Maybank also provides its card holders pre-sale access to concert tickets.
Ms Jacquelyn Tan, UOB’s head of group personal financial services, said its foray into entertainment is paying off with a “knock-on impact” across other categories, such as overseas card holders paying for flight tickets and accommodation.
Based on UOB’s regional card holder data, there was a 68 per cent year-on-year increase in inbound card spend in Singapore driven mainly by customers from Thailand and Indonesia.
The bank noted specifically that before and during the four concerts by international and regional artistes Swift, Ed Sheeran, A-mei and Lau in 2024, there was a 26 per cent year-on-year growth in billings across the dining, shopping, travel and entertainment categories, compared with 17 per cent during non-event periods. This data was acquired by businesses that chose UOB as their payment platform when processing transactions, and reflects transactions on all bank cards including UOB’s.
UOB has 8.4 million card holders, of whom about two million were from the time when the bank in 2022 acquired Citi’s consumer banking business in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia for almost $5 billion. Collectively, they spend more than $50 billion annually using the card.
Data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Credit Bureau Singapore showed that the amount of credit card debt not paid by the due date hit a record high in the last quarter of 2024 at $8.3 billion.
When asked if UOB had seen an increase in the amount of late credit card payments, Ms Tan said the bank had “not seen concerning credit behaviour even with increased spending which, with a caveat, comes with increased purchasing power”.
Ms Tan also said the growing affluence of the Asean region is reflected in the healthy savings and investing growth in UOB, and added: “Savings, liquidity and growth for assets under management are still there for Singapore.”
Alyssa Woo is assistant business editor at The Straits Times. She oversees coverage of the hospitality and retail sector, as well as personal finance stories for the weekly Invest pages.
