• Thursday, March 28, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

UBA’s Leo clocks 4, set to further transform Digital banking in Nigeria, Africa

UBA profit hits N44.5bn as earnings rise 18%

In commemoration of the 4th year anniversary of its flagship artificial intelligence Chatbot known as Leo, United Bank for Africa (UBA) is set to further change the face of digital banking in Nigeria.

With its inception on January 11, 2018, the financial institution resolved to prioritise its customers as well as put the bank at the heart of disruptive technologies that will transform the experience of esteemed customers, and have so far gotten three million users hooked in less than three years of its formation.

Leo offers solutions to any form of banking service related challenges, usually from the customer’s standpoint, and it is easy to use by anyone regardless of location.

The solutions offered by the Chatbot include funds transfer, call card top-up, checking of account balance, retrieval of bank statements, instant account openings for new customers, statement to embassy or other banks as well as microfinance, purchase of airtime and data, paying of bills (LCC, PHCN, Cable TV), and effectively helping with savings and spend limit.

According to the financial institution, Leo has proven to be the most formidable artificial intelligence Chatbot till date serving an ever-increasing customer base who now have less transaction challenges to worry about, and is currently available on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Apple Business Chat.

Read also: Other financial institutions contribute 10.62% to banking sector credit

To further extend its reach, UBA has concluded plans to commence Leo services on Instagram and Google Business.

“Three years later, and with over almost four 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,” Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, UBA said.

With its presence in 20 African countries in three languages, Leo has a number of features bound to wow existing and potential customers with services that are fast and secure as all transactions and enquiries are encrypted, end-to-end. This means that customers’ information is safe and not accessible to third parties.

“While other financial institutions are still trying to find their feet as regards Artificial Intelligence, we can proudly say that our Leo has become a massive success as it continues to consolidate on its successes and accolades, winning several awards in a short while of its existence,” Uzoka said.

The Chatbot is a recipient of over 10 prestigious awards globally since its inception and UBA said it has ensured that Leo continues to enjoy periodic and systematic upgrades with special emphasis on enhanced advancements and specialised unique features where necessary.

“UBA’s vision has always been and will remain to be a dominating force in Africa’s digital banking space. Our resolve is to provide unparalleled experience across all channels. 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,” Uzoka said.

Other services provided by Leo enable customers to make banking services across request, stop, or confirm cheques, block card, log and track complaints, ATM or branch locator, freeze accounts, and check weather, among others.

Other features include customer care complaint resolution, linking of new accounts, flight Payment, linking and funding of prepaid cards, travel notifications, Wakanow services and Dubai Visa service.

“Testimonies abound about how Leo is generally easier to use 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,” Uzoka added.