Wema’s ‘Alat’ Wins Award

ALAT by Wema, a fully digital bank, has been named ‘Best Digital Bank in Africa’ at the 2018 Asian Banker Awards. Wema Bank launched ALAT in May 2017 to provide digital banking services for students, entrepreneurs and professionals in Nigeria. ALAT, a branchless bank with apps available on Google Play, the Apple App Store offers unique features including account opening in minutes, group savings, instant loans, a virtual dollar card and up to 10 per cent annual interest on savings. Over 200,000 ALAT accounts have been opened since May 2017, accounting for more than 1 billion naira in deposits. The Asian Banker is regarded as one of Asia’s most authoritative provider of business intelligence to the financial services industry. It runs a prestigious annual banking awards program, recognising banks with groundbreaking products and services. According to a statement, the bank’s keenness to consolidate its position as a leader in the digital banking space had seen it build a robust portfolio of digital solutions tailored to meet a diverse pool of customers and tailored to suit the dynamic lifestyles of students, budding entrepreneurs and young professionals. “The Bank was the first to pioneer card control, a solution that allows customers secure their payment cards by locking and unlocking their cards directly from their mobile phones. It also offers USSD Bankingthroughits*945#platformandattractivepaymentgateway solutions to merchants through its WebPay service.