By Dipo Olowookere
Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALATbyWema, has been named ‘Best Digital Bank in Africa’ at the 2018 Asian Banker Awards.
Wema Bank launched ALAT in May 2017 to provide digital banking services for students, entrepreneurs and professionals in Nigeria.
ALAT, a branchless bank with apps available on Google Play, the Apple App Store and www.online.alat.ng, offers unique features including account opening in minutes, group savings, instant loans, a virtual dollar card and up to 10 percent annual interest on savings.
Over 200,000 ALAT accounts have been opened since May 2017, accounting for more than N1 billion in deposits.
The Asian Banker is regarded as Asia’s most authoritative provider of business intelligence to the financial services industry. It runs a prestigious annual banking awards program, recognizing banks with groundbreaking products and services.
The bank’s keenness to consolidate its position as a leader in the digital banking space has seen it build a robust portfolio of digital solutions tailored to meet a diverse pool of customers and tailored to suit the dynamic lifestyles of students, budding entrepreneurs and young professionals.
The lender was the first to pioneer card control, a solution that allows customers secure their payment cards by locking and unlocking their cards directly from their mobile phones. It also offers USSD Banking through its *945# platform and attractive payment gateway solutions to merchants through its WebPay service.
These achievements and solutions have earned the bank several other accolades including Excellence in Branchless Banking, Digital Banking Platform of the Year and Best and Innovative Digital Solution.
In addition, the Bank was awarded the Best Digital Platform in Nigeria and the Best Mobile Banking APP by the respected World Finance Magazine.
