Singapore's United Overseas Bank (UOB) has become the world's first lender to use a new Visa API that lets customers add cards to third party apps without the physical plastic.
The bank has built an ecosystem with a host of firms, including Fave, Fitbit Pay, Grab, Shopee, Singapore Airlines and SP Group, to take advantage of the API and simplify digital payments and rewards redemption.
Customers can use the bank's app to add debit and credit cards to the third party apps without having to key in their 16 digit card number, expiry date and security code manually or if they are a new customer, to wait for their cards to be delivered.
Instead, customers log into the bank’s UOB Mighty app and choose the card they would like to add on their preferred third-party app. Customers are then automatically directed to the selected app to confirm.
Jacquelyn Tan, head, group personal financial services, UOB, says: "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."