Udeme Ekwere
The times we are in now calls for
innovations that will ensure that customers can carry out almost any
transactions from the
comfort of their homes, schools or offices and
without having to leave their physical location.
Bearing this in mind, United Bank of
Africa (UBA) Plc has discovered and developed more interesting and fun
ways to strengthen its digital offerings while ensuring that customers
can still enjoy all the services they can get from physical branches
locations and even more without even stepping out of their current
locations.
And as a Pan-African financial
institution that is at the forefront of innovative offerings to satisfy
its ever-broadening clientele, UBA is setting the pace through the
introduction of several unique features and upgraded its offerings on
its mobile app and other digital and retail platforms to allow customers
carry out banking transactions across all channels with ease.
UBA’s Group Managing Director, Kennedy
Uzoka, said the bank has seen the need to ramp up banking channels to
ensure less physical contact by its customers, adding that to this end,
the bank has invested in technology to boost its digital offerings to
customers.
Uzoka, said, “I will like to let you
know that all the investments we have made over the years in the area of
technology have been yielding now, because already, we have been
getting feedback that UBA branches have been meeting the needs of
customers in terms of digital patronage, owing to the growing traffic we
have been receiving in recent times.
He disclosed the bank’s readiness to
continually do business in a way to ensure that customers do not have to
physically be in the banks, adding that “We are set to take our
business to the customers wherever they are and however they want it.”
The Head, Digital Banking, Sampson Aneke, said specifically that UBA aims is to provide the best value possible for its customers through a more interactive, user friendly interface that will make countless opportunities available for the customers from the comfort of their homes.
The Head, Digital Banking, Sampson Aneke, said specifically that UBA aims is to provide the best value possible for its customers through a more interactive, user friendly interface that will make countless opportunities available for the customers from the comfort of their homes.
He pointed out that the UBA mobile
banking app has been upgraded in such a way that it now prompt users to
use their device enabled biometrics, adding that the menu has been
reduced and divided into sub-menus to enable users view Transaction
History, Net worth, Trends amongst others at a glance.
“With the new interface, the user can
now see all the transfer options including the saved beneficiary option
at a glance and can even order food for delivery via the app,” he said.
Customers who subscribe to the lifestyle offering on the app will enjoy
access to the free online medical doctor, a great response to the new
norm created by Covid-19 pandemic,” he noted.
There are other features of the app, as
highlighted by Aneke, including the live chat option, where users can
communicate on the go with dedicated staff trained to assist with any
enquires and challenges; biller validation; as well as group transfer – a
new menu where users can create groups, save members and transfer funds
to up to 100 members on the group.
This Group Beneficiary transfer feature
which does a single lumpsum debit and multiple credits to beneficiaries
irrespective of banks where their accounts are domiciled, makes the
upgraded UBA app, the first app in Africa to be able to pay salaries,
thus addressing a major need in the MSME space.
Aneke explained that the group transfer
was introduced to empower micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs),
while the feature that allows transfer to telephone numbers is to
enhance financial inclusion across Africa against the background of the
challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Customers who subscribe to the
lifestyle offering which is available on the app will enjoy access to
the free online medical doctor, a great response to the new norm created
by Covid-19 pandemic; also you can also order food from the app to be
delivered right at your doorstep,” he said.
Apart from the Cardless Cash
Withdrawals; other features such as mobile Wallet; Prepaid Card Upload
for Corporates; Host to Host Integration to Corporate ERP and Direct
Debit Functionality for Corporate Customers; are other upgrades that
will be coming on board shortly, Aneke disclosed.
UBA’s Group Head, Consumer and Retail
Banking, Jude Anele, who spoke on innovations carried out on the retail
side, explained that the most cost-effective way to reach the banked and
unbanked would be through the mobile phone. This, he said is because
the mobile phone has the greatest penetration across Africa, which is
why the bank has focused on that and introduced contactless payment
system to reduce contact with PoS and ATMs.
“The era of people going to ATMs to
punch keys, slotting cards at PoS terminals where you need to use your
fingers to punch the buttons is almost going because of all the health
concerns which we are aware of. So, what would gain ground is
contactless payment systems where you don’t have to make contact to be
able to pay. You can just generate a code from your mobile phones and
you used this code to collect your money from the ATM without using your
cards.”
He added: “If you go to countries like
Kenya and most parts of East and central Africa, you will find that
while financial inclusion is deepening over there is because of the
spread and depth at which financial technology and mobile payments has
gone in those countries.
He also added that UBA has prioritised
its customers, giving them increased value with its offering of 1.58
percent monthly interest rate on its Quick Loan service to customers,
known as Click Credit.
In his words, “This is another exciting
feature that we have already started receiving rave feedback from our
customers for, where users make Loan Requests via Click Credit (For
Salary Account Holders) or Quick loans which is available to both
savings and current account holders. Our customers have already started
to enjoy these services, and I can tell you that they are very pleased
with these new offerings,”
Continuing, Anele said, “We are offering
this to salaried employees and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) who
are qualified to obtain the Quick Loan, and any salaried customer or SME
is qualified to access the loan for a period of 12 months, six months
or three months with the loan being renewable.”
Operating in 20 African countries and globally in the United Kingdom,
the United States and France, the United Bank for Africa has a strong
record of supporting its communities, through challenging times.
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