By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Pan-African Financial Institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA), which recently clinched the Euromoney awards as the Best Digital Bank in Africa, is once again asserting itself as a pace setter, moving in leaps and bounds in unchartered territory.
UBA’s chat banker, Leo, has launched in pilot mode on WhatsApp and will be fully available to customers by September 1, 2018
With Leo now on WhatsApp, customers who are lovers of the app will be able to open new accounts, check their balances on the go and carry out basic banking services.
Speaking about the launch of Leo on WhatsApp, the Group Managing Director, Mr Kennedy Uzoka, said, “Our customers are at the heart of our business and we as a bank, are never relenting in matching our words with equal action.
“In today’s fast paced world with demands for quick responses, our aim is to make banking seamless and effortless for our millions of existing and potential customers.”
Also speaking on the launch of Leo on WhatsApp, Group Head of UBA’s Online Banking, Mr Austine Abolusoro, stated ‘United Bank for Africa is a technology-driven institution with vast knowledge in the business that we do and Leo, being a tested dependable and intelligent personality, will replicate on WhatsApp, the success it has experienced on the Facebook Messenger platform. It is a solution that is from the customer’s standpoint, easy to use by anyone regardless of your demography.”
“Leo is ready and waiting to help with any form of banking services,” continued Mr Abolusoro.
“WhatsApp has been in existence for over 9 years, reaching more than 1.5 billion people in over 180 countries. The premium private chat platform has assured that there will be no spam messages as the development is to enable businesses serve their customers with useful and helpful information,” he added.
Leo who is already present in over 12 African subsidiaries, including Nigeria, and available in three languages, will be fully rolled out to customers on WhatsApp in September 2018 with all its regular features and extended attributes for WhatsApp.
UBA is one of Africa’s leading banks with operations in 20 African countries and in London and New York, with presence in Paris.
Adjudged to be at the forefront of innovation and convenient banking, UBA is one of the first financial services institutions on the continent to deploy Finacle 10x, a new information technology platform that boosts its services and electronic banking channels.
Today, UBA provides banking services to more than 15 million customers globally, through over a thousand touch points and other diverse channels.
Dipo Olowookere 
Aduragbemi Omiyale