UBA Launches Mobile Banking App for 20 African Countries

United Bank for Africa (UBA) yesterday launched a new mobile banking for Nigeria and 19 other African countries.

The app, which is loaded with security features to protect all financial transactions on the bank’s platform, is focused around customer experience, based on the feedback received from customers.

Presenting the app simultaneously across the 20 African countries, during an online conference with journalists, the Head, SME Banking at UBA, Mr. Sampson Aneke, said the app was all about re-imagining banking operations across the 20 African countries, while distancing itself from any form of competition.

According to Aneke, “The app comes with a lot of features that are engaging to customers and have made banking transactions a lot more easier, while addressing customer’s needs, through inbuilt emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“The app is interactive with lifestyle services and gives customers the opportunity to make choice of transactions and services.”

He listed some of the features of the app to include transfer of money from UBA to other UBA branches and to other banks; send money from mobile phones to beneficiaries and to self for cardless withdrawal, personal financial management, card control and transfer of money to virtual wallets.

According to him, for the card control, the customer could set parameters through which the debit card can be transacted on Automated Teller Machine (ATM), Point of Sales (PoS) terminals, web, among others, in order to protect the card from unauthorised handling and use.

Fielding questions about the security of the mobile banking app, the Chief Information Officer at UBA, Mr. Onyebuchi Akosa, said the app was designed with multiple-factor authentication security features, which makes it extremely difficult to hack.

He, however, advised customers not to divulge personal information to third party, in order to keep the line of transaction fully protected on the part of the customer.

“With the Multiple-factor authentication security features, the app uses secured codes, which will be sent to all account holders, to verify and authorise any financial transactions before payments are made,” Akosa said.

He, however, explained that activation of each security features on the app, would depend on the policy regulation of countries where UBA currently operates.

Chief Digital Officer at UBA. Mr. Kayode Ishola, said the app would offer unique digital baking experience to customers across the Banks’s 20 African operations.

“Mobile technology is our strategy in UBA and we have devoted a lot to ensure that we are able to deliver banking services using mobile devices that are connected with mobile technologies.

“Mobile phone penetration is on the rise in Africa, and UBA is leveraging the mobile phone growth to provide unique mobile banking services for all its customers,” Ishola said.

He added that the app was designed as multilingual and multi-currency app to address the needs of all categories of UBA customers, irrespective of their education and tribe, be it Individual customers, SME customers or corporate customers.

SOURCE: THISDAY / Emma Okonji, Raheem Akingbolu and Nume Ekeghe