In the fast-evolving world of digital banking, customer engagement is no longer about points, stamps, or giveaways – it’s about creating emotional moments that shape behaviour. Few brands have understood this better than UOB, one of Southeast Asia’s leading banks, and its long-time technology partner, Perx Technologies.

Over the past eight years, UOB has transformed its mobile app into a hub of joyful, purpose-driven engagement, from celebrity tie-ins to culturally inspired campaigns and, more recently, data-powered experiences that drive real customer actions.

Engagement as entertainment

UOB’s partnership with Perx began with a bold idea – make banking experiences as exciting as entertainment. UOB TMRW continues to lead the way in redefining digital engagement through gamification. Building on the success of the City of TMRW game in Indonesia and Thailand, the Bank elevated the experience with the launch of the eHongbao Lunar New Year 2025 Campaign in collaboration with Perx.

This vibrant, richly themed game fused tradition with innovation, blending festive symbolism, luck, and fun with modern gamification mechanics. The result? A campaign that transformed everyday banking into an immersive, joyful celebration, perfectly capturing the spirit of Lunar New Year while deepening customer engagement. The milestone reaffirmed a key insight: people don’t just engage with finance, they engage with stories.

StarRush: turning play into purpose

Riding on the momentum, UOB launched StarRush, an in-app gaming experience created with Perx to “surprise and delight” customers. The results were stellar.

Over 49 days, more than 350,000 games were played, with customers earning and redeeming 68,000 rewards. The campaign recorded a remarkable 69% earn-to-burn ratio, one of the highest among Perx-powered programmes, and achieved a 7–8/10 customer delight score in sentiment studies aggregated by Publicis.

Beyond the numbers, StarRush provided strategic learning. Engagement surged early, then naturally plateaued, revealing that audiences craved novelty, progression, and relevance. UOB’s digital engagement lead, Corinna Au, senior vice president and head of digital engagement at UOB, explained.

“Instant rewards create excitement, but sustained engagement needs progression – levels, milestones, and personalisation. That’s where our next phase begins.”

eHongbao: turning tradition into thrill

Lunar New Year is synonymous with hongbaos – symbols of prosperity and good fortune. In 2025, UOB reimagined this tradition for the digital age with – eHongbao Lunar New Year 2025 Campaign: Pay, Play and Win, blending cultural heritage with gamified engagement.

For the first time, the bank introduced a game mechanic to make digital gifting not just seamless but exciting. Customers who made digital payments during the festive period were invited to play an interactive game: pick one of eight virtual red packets, each hiding a surprise prize. Instant gratification met festive fun

The rewards were big and bold – air tickets to Tokyo and Bangkok, plus over $20,000 in cash prizes. The results spoke volumes: more than 215,000 games played, a 33% year-on-year surge in PayNow and Scan-to-Pay transactions, and over 450,000 eHongbaos shared through payment skins.

Beyond the numbers, eHongbao unlocked a powerful insight: gamification drives engagement when paired with cultural relevance and instant rewards. This sets the stage for UOB’s next evolution in festive digital experiences.

The next phase: influence and intelligence

That next phase is already taking shape. UOB and Perx are now collaborating to evolve from feel-good play to purposeful engagement. Using Perx’s advanced rules engine and behavioural analytics, upcoming campaigns will link gamified experiences to real actions, such as increased card usage, deposits, or referrals.

“We want to reward customers for meaningful behaviour,” Corinna added. “It’s about turning engagement into measurable business outcomes, helping customers build good financial habits while driving value for the Bank.”

A partnership built on progress

For Amrith G, senior vice president of marketing & customer analytics at Perx Technologies, the partnership reflects how loyalty and engagement are converging into one discipline.

“UOB has always been a pioneer,” he said. “From the eHongbao Lunar New Year 2025 Campaign to StarRush, they’ve shown that engagement isn’t a gimmick; it’s a strategy. The next frontier is influencing behaviour through data-driven design.”

That frontier is already here. The latest UOB TMRW eHongBao 2026 Promotion brings this philosophy to life with a fresh gaming experience engineered to drive purposeful customer actions.

By simply making five or more PayNow or Scan to Pay transactions during the qualifying period, customers form a natural habit of using seamless, secure digital payments – and are rewarded with 10 chances to play for adorable plushies and festive prizes. Sending blessings becomes more than a seasonal gesture; it becomes a catalyst for building everyday digital behaviours that are convenient, rewarding, and future-ready.

Corinna summarised the shared vision best:

“The bank of the future isn’t just where you transact—it’s where you enjoy, learn, and grow. Every interaction should have purpose.”

Looking ahead

As UOB continues to scale its engagement ecosystem, its partnership with Perx underscores a broader trend in financial services: moving beyond loyalty to build living, learning platforms that adapt to customer behaviour in real time.

From surprise to strategy, UOB’s journey proves that gamification isn’t just play; it’s the future of meaningful, profitable engagement.

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