SINGAPORE: United Overseas Bank, the country’s third biggest bank saw record credit card fees for the third quarter of this year, partly due to a tie-up with arguably the biggest music star in the world, Taylor Swift. The partnership with Swift appears to have paid off in a major way for UOB, and a similar tie-up with UK pop star Ed Sheeran for his concerts in February of next year is expected to give the bank another boost.
Credit cards fees at UOB increased by a record 89 per cent year-on-year to S$104 million in the third quarter, bank’s financial results show. This is almost one-fifth of UOB’s income and is double the 10 per cent from 2022.
UOB got a boost from Swifties, with the tie-up giving the bank’s cardholders access to an exclusive pre-sale last July. The pop star’s only stop in South East Asia on her Eras tour is Singapore, where she plays six shows from March 2 to 9 next year, and tickets sold out in record time.
Ed Sheeran, meanwhile, is bringing his + – = ÷ × tour to Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia from February 16 to March 2, 2024, with UOB as the tour’s regional Presenting Sponsor. The presale for UOB Cardmembers last week for Sheeran’s shows in Singapore and Malaysia has already sold out.
“If you have a UOB credit card it’s a small advantage. There’s more to come. Look at Ed Sheeran — it’s the same thing,” said Mr Wee Ee Cheong, the Chief Executive Officer of UOB during a briefing the bank’s third quarter results on Thursday (Oct 26).
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UOB’s partnerships with Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran are part of the bank’s thrust toward more lifestyle-related endeavors. Because of UOB’s digital and lifestyle offerings this year which have included concerts, food, and travel, the bank has seen a 28 per cent increase in new customers in the first nine months of this year.
But UOB’s profitable tie-up with Swift may well be part of the superstar’s golden touch. Swift, 33, recently reached billionaire status, Bloomberg recently reported, with a total net worth of about US$1.1 billion (S$1.5 billion). Her US Eras tour, wherein she played 53 concerts across the country, added $4.3 billion (S$5.89 billion) to the gross domestic product.
Read also: Taylor Swift and Singapore: Tailor-made for each other
The re-release of her 1989 album, as well as her Eras concert tour film, are also proving to add to the singer’s profits. “Swift has evolved from a teen pop-country phenom to a world-famous celebrity, while maintaining an earnest, girl-with-a-guitar image that belies the machine behind her,” wrote Bloomberg.
/TISG