Leo, the chatbot application developed by United Bank for Africa (UBA) which clocked four years old in January, will expand its digital banking reach in Nigeria ahead of an anniversary party being organised by the bank.
While LEO is currently available on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, the next step is to extend the reach on Google Business and Instagram, which terrains none of its peers can lay claim to.
UBA noted in a statement to BusinessDay that Leo was birthed on January 11, 2018, to prioritise the bank customers as well as put the financial institution at the heart of disruptive technologies that will transform the experience of the customers. In less than three years of its birth, Leo had 3 million users hooked.
The artificial intelligence-based chatbot serves a growing customer base who now have fewer transaction hassles to worry about as Leo resolves most of the bank queries.
“Three years later, and with over almost 4 million customers and counting, UBA’s Leo, has without a doubt, remained the smartest Banking Chatbot in Nigeria because of its speed and quick learning intelligence and has continued to evolve with plenty to offer its teeming customers,” said Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, UBA.
Leo also covers 20 African countries, speaks three languages, and has received over 10 awards globally. Uzoka says Leo’s achievements align with UBA’s vision of being a dominating force in Africa’s digital banking space.
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“We are a technology-driven institution with vast knowledge in the business that we do and Leo, being a tested, dependable and intelligent personality, did well to replicate on WhatsApp the success it recorded on the Facebook Messenger platform where it started its journey and later on the IOS (iPhone Operating System) platform. It is a solution that is from the customer’s standpoint, easy to use by anyone regardless of demography. Leo is always ready and waiting to help with any form of banking service,” Uzoka said.
Leo has the ability to do a wide range of things, including funds transfer, call card top-up, checking of account balance, retrieval of bank statements, instant account openings for new customers, statement to the embassy, other banks, microfinance, purchase of airtime, data, paying off bills (LCC, PHCN, Cable TV), effectively helping with savings and spending limit.
The chatbot also boasts of remarkable innovative features that allow customers to make banking services including requesting, stopping, confirming cheques, blocking cards, log and tracking complaints, ATM and branch locator, freeze accounts, and check weather etc. other features include customer care complaint resolution, linking of new accounts, flight payment, linking and funding of prepaid card, travel notification, Wakanow services, and Dubai Visa service.
The GMD also pointed out that, customers who have engaged with Leo are more than delighted about their experience and credit it for automatically extracting account details without hassles, adding that “Testimonies abound about how it is generally easier to use Leo compared to its counterparts. For example, Leo automatically detects account numbers via a customer’s WhatsApp mobile number and goes ahead to seamlessly help customers check their account balance as well as top-up airtime”.
