Leo, the United Bank for Africa’s artificial intelligence digital assistant and Chatbot in another landmark has turned six years, announcing new offerings aimed towards deepening the face of digital banking in Nigeria.

Since its launch on January 11, 2018, UBA’s Leo has emerged not merely as a technological asset but as an innovative transformative assistant that has had a profound impact on the Nigerian and African financial industry.   

It is important to note that UBA remains the first financial institution in Africa that introduced a digital solution to ease customers’ transactions at a time when it became necessary in the fast-paced world when customers demanded quick transactions and responses. 

From its inception, Leo’s footprint has been unmistakably impactful. The Chatbot which first began operations on Facebook Messenger, and later extended to WhatsApp, IOS and other social media platforms has positively impacted the lives of millions of users across the continent driving financial inclusion, modernising banking and bridging the financial gap that existed. 

UBA has promised that LEO’s services will be even broader and better as the bank has again invested in first-rate cutting-edge technology that will further deepen customer experience on Instagram and Google Business, terrains, none of its peers can lay claim to.

UBA’s Head of Digital Banking, Olukayode Olubiyi, who explained this, pointed out that UBA customers indeed agree that Leo is one of the bank’s biggest investments in cutting-edge technology and has been steadily changing the face of banking on the continent.

He stated: “Six years later, and with over 12 million customers, UBA’s Leo, has without a doubt, remained unequalled as the smartest Banking Chatbot in Africa because of its speed and quick learning intelligence and has continued to evolve with so much more to offer its constantly growing customer base”.

 “While other financial institutions are still trying to find their feet as regards Artificial Intelligence, at UBA, we can proudly say that Leo has become a massive success as it continues to consolidate on its successes and accolades winning several awards as a testament to its unparalleled qualities and effectiveness,” Olubiyi said.

Reeling off LEO’s achievements in the last six years, Olubiyi, said Leo has been effortlessly enhancing the digital customer experience in banking and also achieving a range of other benefits like 24/7 availability as the chatbot stays available round the clock to assist customers and handle the common financial queries asked by the customers.

He added that the AI BoT activities have spanned across the bank’s operations in 20 African countries, garnering huge accolades and over 17 prestigious awards globally.

“With this in mind, we have ensured that Leo continues to enjoy periodic and systematic upgrades with special emphasis on enhanced advancements and specialised unique features where necessary”, he stated.

It is important to point out that the uniqueness of Leo lies in convenience, as customers can initiate transactions without leaving their favoured phone applications, and 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. 

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-five (25) million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries. With a presence in New York, London, Paris, and Dubai, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.