Connect with us

Business

UBA Unveils Instant Account Opening Platform, with Fully Digital, Secure, Cross-border

Published

on

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Africa’s Global Bank, has launched a simplified instant account opening digital platform designed to make banking faster, more accessible, and truly borderless for customers across Africa and in the diaspora.

The new platform enables prospective customers to begin and complete their account opening journey fully online, eliminating the traditional barriers of paperwork and initial branch visits. With this innovation, UBA continues to strengthen its leadership in digital banking and financial inclusion across the continent.

A seamless, fully digital experience; through the new platform, customers can start their onboarding journey via the web by simply selecting their preferred language and country. The process is accessible on computers, tablets, and smartphones, ensuring a consistent and user-friendly experience across devices.

The platform supports both Naira and Diaspora account openings, offering multi-language options that reflect UBA’s diverse customer base and pan-African footprint.

Built on trust, privacy, and compliance: In line with UBA’s commitment to global best practices, the Instant Account Opening platform is fully aligned with applicable privacy and data protection regulations, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This ensures strong data privacy, enhanced customer confidence, and a robust legal framework for international and diaspora customers.

Bridging traditional banking and fintech convenience; Unlike traditional commercial bank onboarding processes, which often require physical branch visits, paper documentation, and in-person biometric capture, UBA’s new platform allows customers to initiate and complete onboarding digitally. Customers can upload required documents, complete digital KYC, and enroll in UBA’s digital channels immediately.

At the same time, the platform matches the speed and convenience customers have come to expect from fintechs, while retaining the strength, security, and regulatory depth of a leading African bank.

How it works: Opening an account on the platform is simple and intuitive: Visit aop.ubagroup.com, click open a savings account and select get started, enter your BVN and complete facial verification, confirm the OTP sent to your registered phone number, provide and update personal details, upload required documents and add a digital signature and receive your account number instantly.

Group Head, Retail and Digital Banking, Shamsideen Fashola, noted that with this launch, UBA reinforces its mission to leverage technology to democratise access to financial services, combining convenience, compliance, speed, and accessibility in one seamless platform.

“At UBA, we are committed to redefining the customer experience through innovation and simplicity. Our new Instant Account Opening platform reflects this commitment by removing traditional barriers and making it easy for anyone—whether on the continent or in the diaspora—to open an account in minutes. This fully digital solution underscores our belief that banking should be accessible, secure, and truly borderless,” Shamsideen said

Alero Ladipo, Group Head, Brand, Marketing and Corporate Communication said: “We understand that today’s customers expect speed, convenience, and compliance without compromise. With this platform, we have blended industry-leading digital onboarding with robust privacy and regulatory standards, ensuring that our retail customers enjoy a seamless account opening experience that matches global best practices.”

United Bank for Africa operates in 20 African countries, as well as the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and the United Arab Emirates. The bank provides retail, commercial, and institutional banking services, and is a leader in financial inclusion and technology-driven banking solutions. UBA is one of the largest employers in the African financial sector, with 30,000 employees across the Group and more than 50 million customers globally.

Loading

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Business

UBA revamps agency, merchant banking services

Published

on

The United Bank for Africa Plc has introduced a new Aggregator Sales Structure for its RedPay POS and Agency Banking Network, aiming to strengthen its relationships with partners and promote greater financial inclusion throughout Nigeria.

The newly launched multi-benefit structure was unveiled at the inaugural UBA Aggregator Engagement Session, held at the bank’s head office in Lagos on Tuesday. The session, themed ‘POS-itive Impact: Connecting Agents, Merchants, and Customers’, served as a collaborative platform to align strategies for scaling the UBAMONI Agency Banking ecosystem and bringing together key industry aggregators, Point-of-Sale partners, and network managers.

UBA’s Executive Director Designate, Digital Banking, Emmanuel Lamptey, who spoke at the event, said, “Today’s session marks a pivotal step in our collective journey to democratise financial access in Nigeria.

By bringing together our valued aggregators and partners, we are strengthening the ecosystem that connects UBA directly to communities and ensuring that reliable financial services are within everyone’s reach.”

Emphasising the need for partnerships, UBA’s Head of Digital Banking, Shamsideen Fashola, who presented the keynote address, outlined the strategic imperative behind the new structure.

“Our aggregators are fundamental to realising our ambition of building Africa’s most impactful digital collections network. This structured framework is designed to be scalable, transparent, and mutually rewarding, empowering our partners with the technology and support needed to drive agent productivity as well as serve underserved communities effectively,” Fashola noted.

The lender said that the platform delivers comprehensive value to agents and aggregators alike, featuring instant settlement, reliable transaction processing, real-time dashboard reporting, and a full suite of services, including dispute and terminal management, analytics, card withdrawals, bill payments, and pay-with-transfer.

For aggregators specifically, the model provides a structured opportunity to onboard and manage agents within UBA’s network and access attractive incentives and commissions, as well as leverage a dedicated Aggregator Admin Portal for real-time visibility into agent performance and transactions.

Adetunji Iyiola, UBA’s Head of Agency Banking, highlighted the customer-focused nature of the initiative, saying the new structure significantly enhances collaboration between UBA, its merchants, and agents.

“This rollout is about creating superior value for every stakeholder and enabling better service delivery to customers while ensuring our partners have the tools and incentives to thrive. It reinforces our promise to deliver essential banking services exactly where they are needed most,” he said.

With the introduction of the aggregator framework, UBA further cements its leadership in pioneering innovative digital financial solutions that bridge the inclusion gap and drive economic empowerment across the African continent.

Loading

Continue Reading

Business

UBA Group Announces Loknath Mishra as CEO UBA UK

Published

on

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), has announced the appointment of Loknath Mishra as Chief Executive Officer of UBA UK.

The appointment which takes effect from February 2nd, 2026, reinforces the Group’s commitment to strengthening its international footprint and enhancing its role as a key financial bridge between Africa and the world.

As CEO of UBA UK, Mishra will focus on positioning the UK subsidiary as a centre of excellence for regulatory compliance and customer service, strengthening financial resilience through diversified liquidity and income sources, as well as deepening UBA’s leadership in trade, transaction, and correspondent banking in support of business flows in and out of Africa.

Mishra brings with him several decades of international banking experience across retail, corporate, investment and transaction banking, with a distinguished track record of building and leading regulated banking platforms in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Before joining UBA UK, Mishra served as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Bank UK, where he played a central role in strengthening the bank’s presence across the UK and European markets, while significantly enhancing governance, regulatory engagement, and operational resilience.

He also held other senior leadership roles at ICICI Bank Limited, including Group Head of Wholesale Banking and Global Head of Transaction Banking, contributing to the expansion of the bank’s global wholesale franchise, strengthening risk management frameworks, and leading customer-centric transformation initiatives across corporate, institutional and financial institution segments.

Mishra is widely recognised for his leadership in complex regulatory environments and for driving digital innovation across trade finance, cash management and retail banking, and in recognition of his contribution to financial services, he was conferred with the Freedom of the City of London.

Commenting on the appointment, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, said, “Loknath brings an exceptional combination of global banking experience, regulatory credibility and deep expertise in wholesale and transaction banking. His leadership will be instrumental in advancing UBA UK’s role as a flagship subsidiary for the Group and in strengthening our capacity to support trade and investment flows between Africa and international markets.”

Alawuba explained that the appointment underscores UBA’s continued investment in building a world-class international banking franchise that supports Africa’s economic integration into the global economy.

On his part, Mishra who expressed delight over his appointment, said, “I am honoured to join UBA at a time of significant opportunity for the Group. UBA’s unique role in connecting Africa to global markets is both compelling and strategically important. I look forward to working with colleagues across the Group to strengthen UBA UK’s platform and to support clients in unlocking growth across Africa and beyond.”

UBA UK plays a critical role within UBA Group’s international network, supporting African corporates, financial institutions, sovereigns and global partners through its strong capabilities in correspondent banking, trade finance, transaction banking and treasury services.

Loading

Continue Reading

Business

Access Bank appoints Ifeyinwa Osime as board chair

Published

on

Access Bank Plc has appointed Ifeyinwa Osime as chair of the board of directors, following the retirement of Paul Usoro, on January 29, according to a statement to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. on Monday.

Ms Osime, a legal practitioner, joined Access Bank’s board in November 2019 as an independent non-executive director and had chaired its Human Resources and Sustainability Committee and the Governance, Nomination, and Remuneration Committee. This role made her contribute significantly to the bank’s corporate governance, leadership development, and sustainability initiatives.

Additionally, Ms Osime is a director at Ebudo Trust Ltd. and a partner at McPherson Legal Practitioners, where she advises on corporate and commercial matters and contributes to strategic leadership.

She is also a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Women Corporate Directors, Nigeria Chapter, and the Chartered Institute of Directors, Nigeria, where she serves on the Executive Committee of the Women Sectoral Group.

Beyond her professional responsibilities, Ms Osime is committed to mentoring youths and is actively involved in the Autism and Developmental Delays Support Community, reflecting her dedication to inclusion and social impact.

Speaking on her appointment, the group chairman, Aigboje Aig-lmoukhuede, said, “Mrs Osime is a principled and experienced leader with a deep understanding of the Bank’s strategy and values.

“She has demonstrated strong commitment to the bank’s vision and mission, and I am confident that, under her leadership, the bank will continue to advance its strategic objectives of delivering sustainable value to shareholders and other stakeholders in the pursuit of its vision to become the world’s most respected African bank.”

Mr Aig-lmoukhuede also congratulated Mr Usoro on the completion of his tenure and on his exemplary leadership, dedication, and significant contributions to the group, saying he remains a valued member of the Access family.

(NAN)

Loading

Continue Reading

Recent Posts

 


<im




JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

Trending