United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has successfully integrated its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered LEO on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a decision the Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba, said builds on the desire to look inward for a seamless intra-Africa payment system.
With the milestone, UBA has become the first financial institution to enable cross-border payments on a chatbot platform in Africa to enable instant, seamless and secure transactions in local currencies among African countries.
At a press conference announcing the official launch in Lagos yesterday, the UBA and PAPSS took journalists through the journey, which culminated in the partnership aimed at deepening intra-African trade, digitising and aiding seamless transactions across the continent.
The innovation allows individuals, traders and corporate users to send and receive money across African borders in local currencies, beginning with the Nigeria-Ghana corridor. The service leverages the PAPSS infrastructure developed in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to reduce reliance on foreign currencies and foster regional integration.
Alawuba, who welcomed the PAPSS team and media practitioners, described the event as a momentous one for the bank and a significant step in the realisation of intra-African trade.
“For us, this is what UBA is all about – connectivity and easing transactions. With PAPSS now fully integrated on our LEO platform, we are not just simplifying payments – we are breaking down the barriers to economic collaboration across African markets and allowing Africans to be able to transact using their local currencies. This is aligned with our vision of being at the heart of Africa’s economic transformation, and so, I say, Now, Africa trade begins,” he stated.
He emphasised that as the future of Africa lies with the youth, UBA would continue to seek ways to support the youth to grow the economy with the integration of PAPSS on the LEO platform, serving as a demonstration of its commitment.
In his submission, the Chief Executive Officer, PAPSS, Mark Ogbalu III, commended UBA for being an excellent partner with Afreximbank and PAPSS on the journey towards boosting intra-African trade. He explained that UBA was one of the first financial institutions to join PAPSS.
Indeed, PAPSS has had an excellent run with UBA, which has now extended from carrying out these transactions from their branches to digital platforms and channels such as LEO. By this, customers can send and receive their money within seconds. This, of course, has an accelerated impact on trade as there is now an interplay between convenience and seamless transactions.
“Before now, Africa intra-trade used to be very low and limited, but this product and service have come to address this, and we are already seeing a lot of impact with this product,” he noted.
UBA Head, Retail and Digital Banking, Shamsideen Fashola, explained that the innovation meant UBA customers would experience truly borderless banking on a platform they already trust.
“The deployment of PAPSS on our LEO Chat banking platform is a bold step in that direction. With this, UBA becomes the First Bank in Africa to power cross-border payments through a chatbot, reinforcing our digital leadership and setting a new benchmark in financial services across the continent,” he said.
