UBA’s Leo Expands to Google Business Chat, Instagram

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has announced the expansion of the services of Leo, its Artificial Intelligence chatbot to Google Business Chat and Instagram.

Leo – UBA’s AI-powered chatbot, which enables customers to make use of their social media accounts to carry out key banking transactions – was first introduced in January, 2018. It has since evolved to become a custom-fitted, personalised virtual banker to several UBA Customers across its 20 African countries. Before now, UBA’s Leo was servicing customers on Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Apple Chat.

The bank also announced an upgrade to the existing fea­tures of Leo, where custom­ers can now carry out their activities in a 3D animated format.

Armed with this upgrade and with its recent expansion to Instagram and Google Business, customers will now be able to carry out more transactions from the comfort of their homes and can now perform more activ­ities such as funds transfer, checking balances, buying airtime and data, and getting their bank statements with ease, from any of these social media platforms.

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Uzoka, who spoke about the upgraded fea­tures of Leo, explained that the bank was always on the lookout for innovative ways to develop strategies aimed at easing transactions for the bank’s numerous users, while ensuring utmost safety of their transactions.

He said, “At UBA, we have been working with technology giants that have the global ca­pacity to ensure not only seam­less but also effortless banking for millions of our customers across Africa. We at UBA, have collaborated with the very best to actualise this unbeatable in­novation that is capable of rev­olutionising the way banking is done in Africa.”

He disclosed that Leo’s activities have spread across Africa, changing the face of e-banking in other key Afri­can locations including Cam­eroon, Zambia, Cote D’Ivoire, Senegal, Congo DRC, Tanza­nia, Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Mozam­bique, Zambia, Guinea, Burki­na Faso, Mali.

Uzoka emphasised that the uniqueness of Leo lies in the convenience. “Customers can initiate transactions without leaving their favoured phone applications. By bringing Leo to the comfort zone of its cus­tomers, UBA’s chat banking became a pioneer innovation and has since enjoyed leader­ship status in the chat banking space,” he explained.

May 18, 2022