Do you remember the days when you accessed the internet using a WAP browser on your java phone? Those were the days. Life was great, the internet introduced us to a whole new world filled with infinite possibilities, and we did not even mind the fact that we had to raise our phones up or take it around our homes looking for a spot with good signal, just so that the internet would be fast enough to load a single picture in as quick as two minutes – when we got lucky.
The internet has come a long way since then. We have moved from GPRS, EDGE, and 3G to enjoying blazing internet speeds with 4G wireless. Today, consumers are clamouring for 5G technology to break even more boundaries and expose us to more possibilities. This is an example of how human behaviour and customer expectations are becoming more sophisticated as technology evolves.
The financial service sector isn’t left out. Advancements in technology over the last decade have resulted in major shifts in customer behaviour and the banking industry has responded by evolving from the traditional brick-and-mortar to a self-service model. Maintaining its position at the forefront of innovation in Africa and delivering excellent service to its customers, UBA has responded to these shifts in consumer behaviour by launching its own digital financial assistant, Leo, to meet its customers’ rapidly evolving expectations.
Introducing: Leo, Chat Banking
Leo is UBA’s digital financial assistant deployed to help you meet your banking needs quickly, conveniently, and seamlessly; right inside your favourite chat apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Apple Business Chat.
As humans striving daily to live lives of purpose, we have an unending list of responsibilities, obligations, and tasks to complete at all times. Because this constant state of busyness while feeling stuck tends to weigh us down mentally, Leo’s specialised skillset powered by artificial intelligence is purposefully created to provide a more efficient, personalised, and seamless experience to customers looking to simplify their financial transactions.
Imagine you’re having a busy day at the office when you realise it’s your friend’s birthday and you need to get her a gift before the day runs out. You send a WhatsApp message to one of you gift vendors to ask about gifts you can order and have expressly delivered. A few minutes later, the vendor gives you a list with the available options varying in price and you wonder which one you can afford. Instead of leaving WhatsApp to log into your bank app or use a USSD portal, you simply search for Leo on your WhatsApp contact list and send a message to get your current account balance. Within five seconds, Leo sends you your account balance and you pick the gift you can afford from the vendor. Next, the vendor sends the company account details for payment and you simply switch to your chat with Leo and request for a payment to be made to the vendor’s account immediately. Your friend gets her gift later in the day and you retain your position as friend of the year.
This process would have taken you several trips switching between apps or devices while trying to get work done at the same time. This is one of the numerous ways Leo makes lives easier for UBA customers.
Everything You Can Do With Leo, the Virtual Banker
Leo can help you can send money, buy airtime, pay bills, and even send your account statement to embassies and other banks. Leo can even help you check the weather and get football highlights! Here is a list of the transactions you can do with Leo:
• Bills payment.
• Buy data.
• Funds transfer.
• Budgeting: Savings plan/spend limit.
• Linking and funding of prepaid card.
• Account opening.
• View mini and full account statement.
• Statement to embassy/other bank./microfinance.
• Balance enquiry.
• Link new account.
• Tell you the weather.
• Business services-Request/Stop/Confirm cheque, block card, freeze account.
• Complaint Module: Log and track complaint.
• ATM/Branch Locator.
• Live chat.
How To Chat With Leo
To chat with Leo for the first time, visit here from your device and click on the link to your preferred channel – WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Apple Business Chat.
For subsequent interactions with Leo, simply go to your Facebook Messenger, or WhatsApp and search for ‘UBA ChatBanking‘.
Is Chat Banking Safe?
As you already know, Leo is a chat banking solution that enables you to perform banking services over chat apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Apple Business Chat. New users are usually concerned about how safe it is to carry out important transactions on those platforms due to its novelty, so this section is to let you know that chat banking is totally safe and you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
All messages are secured with end-to-end encryption. This ensures only you and UBA can read your messages while interacting with Leo.
Ensure you are interacting with the real Leo by looking out for the blue verification check mark on Facebook Messenger , the white verification check mark on Apple Business Chat, and the green verification check mark on WhatsApp.
Get chatting today with Leo and experience a whole new world of banking solutions without going to the bank.
