UOB, Lazada partner to offer loans for SEA sellers

Lazada’s headquarters in Singapore / Photo credit: Lazada

UOB and Lazada Group have inked a partnership to collaborate on retail and banking solutions, including offering loans for Lazada sellers across Southeast Asia.

Both companies are gearing up to launch a pilot of the loan program later this year. They also plan to offer cash management and transaction processing services for Lazada merchants.

This marks UOB’s first deal with an ecommerce platform and Lazada’s first partnership with a bank, according to a statement.

In addition, with UOB’s acquisition of Citigroup in four Southeast Asian markets, the company plans to rebrand its Citi-Lazada credit cards in Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam to UOB-Lazada later this year, with those in Singapore and Indonesia following suit.

Earlier this month, Lazada received a US$353 million injection from its parent company Alibaba after the Chinese tech giant announced plans to break up its operations into separate business units.

See also: Shein’s rapid rise in Southeast Asia could topple ecommerce giants

Note: This article was written with the help of AI. Don’t worry, humans were still involved in producing this story.