UOB to launch marketplace for SME purchases

These include travel, stationery, general insurance as well as courier and logistics services.
UB said a key benefit of this marketplace is the cost savings, which SMEs will be able to enjoy from bulk purchase deals negotiated by the bank with suppliers.
UOB will be working in partnership with cloudBuy, a global provider of cloud-based e-commerce and business-to-business (B2B) solutions, to create this one-stop virtual shop in the first quarter of next year. This marks the first time that a bank in Singapore will create a B2B marketplace, UOB said in a statement yesterday.
UOB said its data showed the number of its SME customers buying goods and services online has grown by more than 30 per cent over the past three years.
Two in five UOB corporate credit card customers are now making their business purchases online.
Mervyn Koh, UOB’s managing director and head of business banking in Singapore, said that through this new virtual marketplace, customers can enjoy good bargains with collective bulk purchases.
This will help them address the challenge of rising business costs.
“As the B2B marketplace will showcase products and services from different suppliers, SMEs will also be able to make purchases online conveniently without having to request for numerous and separate price quotations.”