UBA: Customers Day Of Celebration As The Bank repeatedly Updates Its Technology To Become User Friendly

By Stephen Ubanna

In spite of the down in the nation’s economy, particular, the nation’s Financial sector, which had made the  Money Deposit Banks, MDs,B in the country, to work in bits and fits or  closing  down some of its braches in the cities  on the orders of the Boss Mustapha, Chairman Presidential Task Force on COVID  19 and Secretary to Government of the Federation,  as a result of the Wuhan Town in Hebei Province of the Asian country of China emerged coronavirus, popular, COVID 19 , the United Bank For  Africa, UBA, plc, a Pan African Bank, appears  to have kept to its promise   of putting smiles on the faces of its Customers.

While other MDBs, are still struggling to mobilse deposits at this trying and difficult  times  to  be in the race for  sustaining its the banking operations, the Pan African Bank, under the close watch of Kingsley Uzoka, according to insider sources has  not  been running after depositors to swell up the rank of the bank Customers  in order  to boost its Financial base.

The Pan African Bank,  the  source said   has been  more concerned on how to meet the demand  of its millions of customer  in Nigeria and other parts of the world by  keeping to its promises. Recall that the Bank , which is never tired of initiating  new ideas  as part of efforts to carry the Customers along  had  cinitiated   the monthly and quarterly  Bumper Account Draw which kick-started last January.

The Draw, supervised by the Lagos  state  Lottery Commission and other relevant government agencies  personnel was said to have started last January as planned.   With the monthly Draw, 100 Bumper Account holders who participate  in  it by fulfilling all the laid down conditions of  maintaining  the minimal Bumper Account  deposit of N5,000.00 were rewarded. For the current Account holders who want to  migrate  to  the  Bumper Account  in order   to participate  in the monthly and quarterly Bumper Account Draws, appear to  have  given a soft landing to do so. They are expected to  dial *20*1# while other potential Customers  should  dial *919*20# if interested in opening the Bumper Account to make it a reality.

 The bank  may  have changed strategy of organising the Draw  in the full glare of the Lagos  state Lottery Commission and other government agencies personnel as a result of the lockdown  necessitated by COVID 19. Instead of inviting the selected  lucky  participants to appear at the Bank Head office  at Marina, Lagos, for the Draws,  the bank was said to have  resorted to transmitting the message to them via  the Facebook platform.

 In Compliance with  the  Law  abhorring  large gathering of people in a place and the Social Distancing rules of the Chikwe Ihekweazu, led Nigerian Center for Disease and Control, NCDC, and The World Health Organisation, WHO, a health agency of the United Nations, to curb the spread of COVID 19, the Bank  Draw Organising Committeee   were said to have reached out to the  selected participants for the lat Wednesday edition via the Facebook  platform in order  to prepare their mind for it.

Uzoka: GMD, UBA plc

It was not surprising  why the June edition of the Draw, which was held last Wednesday  at the Bank Headoffice  was transmitted  live  via the Facebook platform to avoid accusations of Favouritism. A staff of the Lagos state Lottery Commission who spoke to the Value News on phone described  the  conduct of the virtual  Draw as very  transparent, advising other Banks , involved in organising such  Customer-related Draws to  take a cue from UBA to avoid wrangling  after the exercise.

Going by the previous Draws which were  held between March and May, 2020, in which the winners were  contacted  through their mobile phone numbers known to the Bank, the situation was  not different this  time around. The latest  set of  winners from  the Bumper Account  Draw  who received  the N0.1 million alert in their respective  mobile  phones could not hide their feelings  of joy.

One of the winners  was said to have rushed to the Bank Marina Headquarters out of happiness, where he was said to have showered praises  on the Uzoka led Management  for putting smiles on his face and others in this trying and difficult times. People who saw him had  mistaken  him to be a mad person until they realised that he was celebrating the N0.1 million  won from the UBA  most recent Bumper Account Draw.

The lucky UBA Bumper Account Draw winner  who had the ‘’mark of joy  written all over him’’  was said to have  told those  that cares to listen  that the N100,000.00 won from the  Draw, will go a long way  in solving  part of the  family  financial needs, particular, settling the accumulated  debts  incurred in the last three months as result of the lock down  necessitated by the COVID 19. The feeling of  the  Lagos born  winner of the Draw   was not different from the feeling  of others  in other parts of the country.

Jude Anele,  Group Head , Consumer and  Retail Banking  of the pan African Bank  who was said  to have congratulated the participants and winners of the Draw , had urged  those who lost out  not lose faith. ‘’There is another time’’he said.

 Anele , was said to have told the winners of the monthly Draw, that ’’ they were rewarded  for  their  loyalty to the bank’’, noting that the Bank is very much interested in ‘’supporting Customers as it remains passionate  about their success and overall growth’’.

The UBA Group Head Consumer and Retail Banking , disclosed that  ‘’there is  no other  better  time  to give back  and reward the Bank Customers  than  this challenging  economic period where people  need  all the support they could get to make life more meaningful’’. He  avered  that the essence  of  rewarding the  loyal Customers of the bank  is to encourage  them  to save regularly.

Michelle Nwoga, Group Head, Marketing and Customer Experience, may have given  an  insider  information  about the Bumper Account  when he explained that  the main purpose  of the Account is ‘’to ensure  that Nigerians  fully embrace  the savings culture’’. According to him, the monthly and quarterly  Draws  will  go  a  long way to assist  Customers  in  this hard times by providing them  with Funds that will help ease the  difficulties  occasioned by the COVID 19.

The UBA Group manager,  had  said   that  the Bumper Account  also  has a monthly shopping  allowance of  N0.1 million for grabs. She disclosed that ‘’ no fewer than  five such  Account  holders  will  get  N2 million  each   across  the six participating regions :  north central, north east, north east, south east, south-south and south west ,   every quarter.

She revealed why the bank has continued  ‘’ to invest in cutting edge technology  that guarantees ease of doing business   as it is evident in its recent mobile Application upgrade  which offers  a more  interactive , user friendly  interface  that makes available  a myriad of opportunities from the Customers ’homes’’.

One key point of the Application, she had said   was  ‘’ the live chat option, where users  can communicate   on the go  with  dedicated staff trained  to assist  with  any enquires and challenges, biller verification as well as Group transfers’’.

Note  this  new  menu,  where users can create groups , could  facilitate the  transfer of Funds to up 100  members at a go from the group.  She had asserted that the Application  can  as  well, prompt users to use their device  enabled biometrics, noting that the menu has  been reduced  and divided into  sub-menus to enable users view transaction History, net worth, trends among others at a glance.

  The magazine had tried it and found it to be real  . The information volunteered  was  very  surprising  it shows   the Company  transaction History , an information that  could only be available in the past by the Bank Front Desk officer.  Many believe that  UBA  had  constantly been  updating its technologies to keep abreast with what is happening in other Banks of  equal status in other parts of the world. This may have informed  why the Pan African  Bank is far ahead of  other MDB, across the country.  and the African Continent

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