United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Pan African financial institution, has said that the recent upgrade of the UBA mobile app was to enable the bank offer customers’ seamless means to pay for goods and enjoy world class digital banking services.
Sampson Aneke, group head, Digital Banking, UBA, who stated this during a revealed this during a virtual media briefing with journalists across the continent, said that bank’s digital transformation, through its huge investment in technology enabled it to introduce features in its refreshed version of mobile app. that allow group transfer and transfer to a telephone number.
According to Aneke, the bank, anticipated that the COVID-19 pandemic would hasten digital banking penetration as well as financial inclusion across the continent.
“So some of these things that would replace point of sale (PoS), some are already here while some are still in the making like QR code we already have in the current app, so you wouldn’t need PoS.
“We are making QR code so easy so that you can on your app the merchant to like and use regularly. There a lot of things we are doing to make life easy for our customers and to help maintain good hygiene because the current situation calls for seriousness as far as hygiene is concerned.”
Aneke, also said the new UBA app has a feature that allows transfer to telephone numbers. Another feature the bank introduced in the new app is that it allows group transfer.
Also speaking during the media briefing, Jude Anele, group head, Consumer and Retail Banking, said: “The era of people going to ATMs to punch keys, slotting cards at PoS terminals where you need to use your fingers to punch the buttons is almost going because of health concerns.
“Most of the transmission you might get and other aliment would come from such. So, what would gain ground is contactless payment systems where you don’t have to make contact to be able to pay.”
He added: “If you go to countries like Kenya and most parts of East and central Africa, you would find that while financial inclusion is deepening over there is because of the spread and depth at which financial technology and mobile payments has gone in those countries.
“I believe that what COVID-19 has done for Africa, from a positive perspective is that it would actually hasten the adoption of digital banking which is actually the most cost-effective way to reached the unbanked.”
Anele further said: “What would take effect now and in the near future in payments in banks would largely be contactless payments. And contactless payments would happen largely around person to person transfers, USSD and that would include many people.”