Pan African Financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) has invested significantly in cutting edge technology in a bid to boost its overall service offering to customers, a development that has proven its unalloyed commitment to ensuring premium services thus affirming its dominance across Africa.

For a bank that has scored many firsts in the industry and is ranked among the top three banks in effective use of social media in Nigeria in a social media report by Alder Consulting; a bank that has invested heavily in building a robust and secure e-banking platform that supports its e-banking operations globally through strategic partnerships with various local and international organizations, you could only expect the bar to keep going higher.

Beyond being active on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Google Plus, and also running a corporate blog, Africa’s global bank is continuously innovating and developing strategies aimed at making banking seamless and effortless for millions of its existing and potential customers, while also ensuring utmost safety of their transactions.

It was, therefore, not surprising that UBA would score yet another first with the introduction a Mobile App, that is capable of revolutionizing the way banking is done in Africa.

To reinforce its commitment to first-rate experience, the bank introduced numerous unique features on its mobile app and other digital platforms that set it apart and allow customers carry out banking transactions seamlessly across all channels.

Disclosing these features in a recent online press conference, intended to keep customers informed  about the bank’s efforts in enhancing their experience through its digital platforms, Sampson Aneke, Group Head, Digital Banking, United Bank for Africa noted that the bank has taken steps ahead of its peers to navigate alternate banking channels in a bid to serve its customers better amid the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond while bracing for the challenges of the new normal as a result of the pandemic.

“In recent times, we carefully observed what people encountered after the day the Federal Government eased the lockdown intended to flatten the Corona Virus curve (COVID 19), it was a terrible experience, where customers crowded many banks to access their funds. So we on our own decided that  to use that experience to further improve on our alternative channels  in a bid to enhance customers experience,” Aneke said.

He continued, “what our customers will be getting now is an enhanced value that places us firmly ahead of our contemporaries in service delivery. Today, as we speak, they do not necessarily need a card to withdraw cash from any UBA ATM.

“Simply dial *919*30*Amount# for a cash withdrawal code, you will be required to create a onetime pin (OTP), then enter the PIN to get a Paycode directly from your UBA Account to Withdraw the cash. At the ATM, enter your Paycode, OTP, Pin, Amount and Phone Number to get your Cash,” he added.

Aneke also explained that henceforth, there  will be a new mobile app of the bank which will 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. In addition,  we introduced a refreshed version of the mobile app that allows for group transfer projected to empower micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) transfer to telephone numbers. This innovation was conceptualised to enhance financial inclusion across Africa against the background of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new feature also allows a customer transfer to telephone numbers”.

Other features of the app, as highlighted by Aneke, include 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.

“Another exciting feature that we have already started receiving rave feedback from our customers for, Is the one that enables 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,” Aneke said.

Also speaking, Group Head, Consumer and Retail Banking, Jude Anele said in addition to the revamped offerings UBA has put in place to prioritise customers and give them increased value is that  the bank is now offering 1.58 percent monthly interest rate on its Quick Loan service to customers, known as Click Credit

“We are offering this to salaried employees and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) who are qualified to obtain the Quick Loan,” Anele said.

According to him, any salaried customer or SME is qualified to access the loan for a period of 12 months, six months and three months and the loan is renewable.

He affirmed that customers can get up to N5 million in 1 minute or less with super-fast loans like click credit using the bank’s unrestricted and secured access to clients accounts anytime, anywhere, on their computer, tablet, smart phones, or any internet-enabled device.

This is coming on the heels of the banks response to help its customers survive and navigate the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic which has ravaged the entire world subsequently leading to a new normal.

UBA in its audited results for the full-year ended December 2019, recording impressive growth across top and bottom lines.

According to the 2019 financials filed at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday February 28, 2020, the Africa’s global bank’s gross earnings grew by 13.3 percent to N559.8 billion, compared to N494.0 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2018.

The Bank’s total assets also grew significantly by 15.1 percent to an unprecedented N5.6 trillion for the year under review. This is the first time the Bank’s gross earnings and assets will respectively cross the N500billion and N5trillion marks.