As Nigeria continues to push through the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals are still grossly affected by the social, health, and economic crisis brought on by the deadly virus.

The economic consequences of businesses, organizations, and other necessary functions of states temporarily shutting down is the increased level of poverty, job losses, pay-cuts, and static wealth flow that is currently being experienced on a relatively massive scale. With the government having announced the anticipation of the loss of up to 39.4 million jobs by December this year, due to the pandemic, a large number of the middle class to lower class Nigerians are being pushed steadily below the poverty line.

At this crucial time, financial lee ways that come as soft loans, grants, and complementary funds to small business owners and salary earners would help keep employed individuals above the line and significantly decrease extreme poverty levels.

ALAT by Wema’s Salary Earners Low-interest loans is a prime example of the sort of intervention needed to respond to this economic concern. Described fittingly as a “Salary

Booster”, these low-interest loans are open to ALAT’s existing as well as new salary earning customers, whether or not they have their salary account domiciled with Wema Bank.

The flexible, quick, easily accessible, and seamless (no paper work) process attached to this service makes it even more timely and suited for the spontaneous financial concerns that are sure to arise regularly during this pandemic. All that is required of customers is to download the ALAT app on the android or IOS app store, or visit ALAT’s webpage and sign up to be able to access loans that will help keep them afloat until the next payday or attend to pressing emergencies.

Salary earners are entitled to a loan of N50,000 up to N4,000,000 which will be received within hours and will have a time limit between 3 to 24 months to pay back with only a 2% interest rate per month on a reducing balance basis.

The rate at which Nigerians can maintain a substantial living standard during this time will determine the extent to which the government’s consolidated efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic would go. Thus there is a need for radical shifting of concentrated wealth distribution into a more expansive and human-focused practice.

Three years ago, Nigeria’s first fully digital bank – ALAT – was established, and for the first time Nigerians no longer had to visit banking halls to open accounts or complete their banking transactions. Today, considering the importance of virtual banking in our current social distancing climate, ALAT has proven its worth as a prescient financial solution to a now global problem, a timeless fit for every season.

In 2017, ALAT was established by Wema Bank with a goal to create a banking outlet that is flexible, easy to use, and suited for Nigerians who value their time, reliability, and enjoy the convenience that comes with technology. This innovation came at a time when financial institutions in the country were only beginning to create banking apps to carry out some of their services.

Wema Bank saw an opportunity to create a bank that responds actively to the banking needs of a new generation of Nigerians, and so far it has done an excellent job of it. Three years later, with over 200,000 customers, who have carried out almost 900,000 transactions worth up to N12 billion, ALAT is definitely leading the FINTECH movement in Nigeria.

Thanks to ALAT, Nigerians, now have a banking system that provides quick and flexible financial services, and beats the long queues and restrictive paperwork required for physical banking. ALAT leverages the best technological resources available to democratize banking processes and make them accessible to every customer no matter where they are. Now normal procedural services like obtaining ATM cards, loans, bank registration, payment options, and many more have been integrated into a one-stop app.

This year, ALAT is celebrating three fulfilling years of making banking easier for Nigerians. With over 100,000 downloads recorded on Google Play, a 1bn ($2.78m) mark in terms of deposits into savings accounts recorded in 2018, winning ‘Best Mobile Banking App’ and ‘Best Digital Bank for 2017’ at the World Finance Digital Banking Awards, the 2018 ‘Best Digital Bank in

Africa’ at the Asian Banker Awards, and the 2019 ‘Best Digital Platform Nigeria 2019 Award’, the bank’s past records speak for themselves.

Judging from the international recognition ALAT has received within the global and local tech community, and the fast-changing face of tech in Nigeria, the fully-digital bank is taking its place as a resourceful agent of social advancement. Also, along with the increase in the use of smartphones and other convenient technology in Nigeria, is an increasing need for digital banks that offer the full banking experience on mobile. Expectedly, ALAT by Wema is prepared to welcome these incoming customers into the future.

Social distancing is our new reality. Yet, we can’t help but miss the simple things we once took for granted – like sharing warm hugs with our loved ones, dining out, playing sports, Owambe parties and more! Everything feels different, but thankfully stress-free banking doesn’t have to be one of those necessities we must give up.

The economy might be re-opening, but that doesn’t mean we should open ourselves up to infection along with it. To ensure that doesn’t happen we must minimize our exposure by being in public spaces only when absolutely necessary.

Why do you have to go out to get groceries if you can have them delivered to your doorstep? Why do you have to go out to pay your utility bills when you can do that right from the comfort of your home? Above all, why should you endure the long queues and unavoidable physical contact of banking halls when you can get all your banking services right on your mobile device?

ALAT is Nigeria’s first fully-digital bank, built from scratch to be used and enjoyed as an entirely digital experience, thereby making all banking services available to you anywhere you can access the internet. From confirming your balance to making payments, paying utility bills, accessing loans, scheduling payments, saving and more, ALAT is making banking extremely easy.

It gets better. If you are unhappy about any service you received through ALAT, you can always lodge a complaint with Purple Connect, WEMA Bank’s Call Centre. Dedicated and well-trained personnel who understand that at the core of any excellent customer support, only a 100% satisfaction rate is acceptable, are available 24/7 to attend to you.

With ALAT, you can make payments from anywhere in the world, and maintain a 6feet distance with ease. ALAT does much more than make banking easy, it makes it enjoyable and seamless!

It’s been a hectic and daunting year so far owing to the recent coronavirus outbreak, and as a result, the world has been forced into isolation. This is to help contain the virus and return civilization to normal, as quickly as possible.

For many, productivity has waned entirely as they are completely dependent on interaction with the outside world to make ends meet. This isolation has forced many into an unnatural business habitat; their home, where they are stuck wishing they had incorporated digitization into their field of work and roll with futuristic financial platforms.

The idea of isolation quickly raises the question of how to endure financially during this period, seeing as financial activities have been instructed to cease. Luckily, there are a few financial institutions out there that oddly enough were built to withstand even the most unforeseeable of circumstances. ALAT By Wema, an online banking platform in Nigeria is one of such banks.

Here’s why:

● Bank at Your Convenience: ALAT is a digital virtual banking platform that offers the majority of its services online. Services ranging from creating savings plans to receiving loans. At a time like this, these may seem secondary compared to the task of just keeping safe, but when it’s all said and done, the real MVPs will be those who made the most of their time and managed to cash out, all while at home. In this regard, ALAT users are at an advantage with a bank that requires no physical representation to carry out transactions, you can bank seamlessly during this isolation period, all you need to do is register online, and viola, your bank is literally in your hands.

● Saving for Now and The Future: It’s easy to get carried away with the negative news making its rounds all over the media, and it can easily become paramount to just live for the ‘now’ and survive at any expense, after all this can be the apocalypse for all we know, fortunately, this is not true and assumptions like this may be costly. Many of us remain hopeful that society will return to normal, and when it does, it will be a huge loss if you don’t have enough funds to bounce back on your feet. With ALAT savings and goals, even while being overwhelmed by the lockdown, you are still guaranteed utmost returns on your savings plan to help keep your assets afloat, while the bank seamlessly helps you create a healthy budget to get you through this period and beyond.

● Financial Projects Continues: As the popular saying goes; the show must go on. Believe it or not, while many people are remiss as to how to sustain their financial projects this period, ALAT users are not. Choosing to bank with ALAT means conducting business in the comfort of your home, while everyone else is running hustling back and forth to achieve the same result you did without having to move an inch. This, now more than ever, is proving to be a huge advantage. Let’s paint you a scenario; perhaps you have an online business you wish to run this period, one that is very time-sensitive and if not taken advantage of quickly could slip through your fingertips and you need a loan from a bank, this could be a problem as all other banks have closed, fortunately, ALAT is not. ALAT continues to be fully functional regardless of the global crises, because, again, it is a digital bank.

● Open a Fresh Account: If for some reason you require a new bank account, be it a student bank account or business bank account, perhaps for the singular purpose of making online payments, or maybe you want to open a business account, and you need a trusted airtight platform to run your business from, whatever the reason may be, ALAT has you covered. No paperwork required, no need to be at a bank, in just five minutes with only your handset, you can open any type of account, choose from its range of saving plans, budget appropriately, or create a business plan.

● Pay Your Bills: ALAT has made banking easy with its services accessible online, this, of course, includes payment of bills. This utility has never been more useful than for a time like this where movement is restricted.

You can also use the dollar card, which helps convert currency, for international transactions. This again is because of the bank’s digital solutions and how you can handle the majority of your money transactions online, even transactions as complex as receiving a business startup loan.

Many business owners will be forced to reevaluate their business model and find a way to create an avenue for digitization, because the humbling lesson we have all learnt from this pandemic, is that anything can happen at any time, and one must always have a sustainability plan. So don’t get stuck with a banking platform that doesn’t meet your financial needs in such a time like this, ALAT is all you need. stay woke!

The world has had to come to a stand still for many industries and individuals. Routines that had until now been seamless, and seemed irreplaceable have had to be viewed differently. A global pandemic has that humbling effect.

While a decent portion of the global economy reels under the weight of a fast-spreading deadly disease that threatens the old order of things, many of these affected industries are having to reimagine how they do business at a time when human interaction, the base that holds our modern lives up and running, has had to reduce, if not halt entirely.

Businesses are falling back on existing digital platforms, and the ones that lack those are frantically putting together a semblance of one in order to maintain service provision as an increasing swathe of the world is forced into physical distancing, a measure necessary to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The toll

The first case of the novel coronavirus was reported in Wuhan, China, in late December, 2019. Since then, the virus is now known to have infected roughly 2.1 million people around the world and killed more than 141,000 of them. It has also spread to at least 185 countries and regions around the world in just four months.

Nigeria reported its index coronavirus case on February 27, 2020. In the time since, 600 confirmed cases have been documented, with 20 fatalities and 180 recoveries. Some of the country’s major cities have had to go on total lockdown, in a bid to halt new infections. This means tens of millions of Nigerians are forced to stay indoors for the collective good of all. The question is, what does this entail for an emerging economy that at its core appears to be dependent on everyday human interaction?

Staying at home will in fact help save your life, and that of others, but staying at home does not do everything that needs to be done. Such as pay the bills, which would not stop coming because you are forced to be on lockdown. We are forced in these times to reimagine life itself; how we buy food, how we pay bills, how we complete essential transactions, and also how we maintain a social connection with friends and loved ones, while we steer clear of all physical contact. This is where ALAT By Wema comes in!

Stay ALAT

When Wema Bank introduced its digital banking platform, ALAT, in 2017 and touted it Nigeria’s first fully functional digital bank, it was no premonition of a time like this. The bank was being innovative in the way any institute would that is concerned about the satisfaction of its customers above all else.

ALAT is built from scratch to be entirely digital, making all banking services available to you anywhere you can access the internet. In comparison, a banking app only offers some banking services (typically airtime purchases, bill payments and transfers). With a banking app, you usually still need to go to a

physical bank to get a debit card and activate it, submit documents and often, to get some kinds of customer support, not so with ALAT.

You can stay home, and stay safe, while keeping your financial life active in every way with ALAT.

Being the hero made easy

A lot of the discomfort of staying at home in these difficult times comes from the anxiety of uncertainty. ‘How do I do so and so?’ is a frightening question at any point in time, but especially when ‘so and so’ are essential everyday things that don’t require much thought put into them. Like going to the bank to make a deposit, pay your children’s school fees, or wire money to your friends and family. It takes a heroic steadfastness to hold from doing these things the traditional way. Wema Bank’s ALAT takes away the costly sacrifices necessary to pull off this heroic act.

ALAT By Wema is made better for the period of the lockdown with a new banking feature for account holders; a self-service banking feature launched for its customers to alleviate any complications with the platform in this period.

The feature which can be accessed by simply calling the number 070022552528, uses an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) to generate information for customers and help them perform other banking needs.

You can confirm account balance, resolve account security issues and check your financial statements in varying period stretches, without any need to reach the Purple Connect, the Wema Bank’s Call Centre, or visit any banking halls.

You can be the hero and save yourself and everyone else from the threat of new Coronavirus infections, without having to pay the huge price of inability to perform crucial financial activities.

The future is now

The launch of ALAT in 2017 was aimed at being a solution to a problem of the future, it appears that that future has sneaked up on us fast and is here. It is gratifying to think about the reality that, rather than scramble to catch up with it, it met us prepared.

Wema Bank is holding steadfast to its reputation of offering seamless financial services with ALAT. The lockdown is merely an opportunity to really see that in action, but also to see how much farther the bank is able to go in innovating and meeting emerging customer needs.

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s leading innovative bank, is set to award 20 school children with a N50,000 School Support Fund in the 2020 Wema Educational Award. The annual award, which is available to holders of the Bank’s Royal Kiddies Account, is set to hold in September, 2020.

To qualify, parents and guardians are to open a Royal Kiddies Account in any Wema Bank branch close to them with a minimum of N100,000 before September 12, 2020. Parents and guardians who already have a Royal Kiddies Account can top up their balance to N100, 000 before the deadline to also qualify. The winning accounts would be notified of their reward after the final selection which is set to hold on September 18, 2020.

The Royal Kiddies account, a savings account opened by parents and guardians enables them to save up for their children’s education. As a Royal Kiddies account holder, a child gets to enjoy a competitive interest rate of 4.75% on savings, an E-Purse for electronic transactions and many other incentives including an opportunity to win the annual Wema Educational Award.

“It is our way of supporting parents in educating their children and we are happy with the impact we have made in the past years,” said Dotun Ifebogun, Divisional Head, Retail Business, Wema Bank
“This year, education has been greatly hampered by the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic and we hope this will go a long way to support this year’s winners as they settle into the new normal. We also hope to use this gesture to help inculcate a savings culture into children and prepare them for financial freedom early.”

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank, has built a new training school, Wema Purple Academy, with the multi-purpose function of providing quality training for staff as well as a space for innovators to collaborate.

Wema Purple Academy, formerly at Oba-Akran Ikeja is now located at Town planning way Ilupeju Lagos and serves as a pathway for new staff to join the bank as well as a learning centre for current staff to increase individual and organizational productivity. It assists the Bank to identify and develop talents and prepare a structured career progression for the superior performers thereby guaranteeing a sustainable performance culture in the future.

The newly built Academy will also house an innovation hub which will bring together technologists, tech enthusiast and creators alike to collaborate and create innovative solutions targeted at critical business and human needs. This is to serve as one of the numerous channels through which Wema Bank fosters creativity, instils the bank’s work ethics, culture and high-professionalism. By building the Academy to include an innovation hub and state-of-the-art learning software and systems, the bank continues to deliver on its promise for innovation and creativity through digitization and twenty-first century technology.

Trainings offered at the Wema Purple Academy are of relevant world-class curricula in skill areas that correspond with the requirements to achieve the Bank’s strategic pillars in a more structured manner. Through the Academy, the Bank ensures that staff focuses on the vision, mission and goals that makes the future of the Bank an exciting one. It will help drive and entrench the much-desired performance and innovation culture within the Bank – employees across different levels will be equipped with competencies required for now and future, geared towards achieving superior performance needed to deliver innovative solutions to customers.

“Our overall goal is to see our staff grow constantly both personally and career-wise, and in turn use the knowledge from these trainings to deliver top-notch ideas that can translate to innovative solutions across all areas of the bank” said Chief Human Resources Officer, Wema Bank, Mrs. Ololade Ogungbenro. “This will also enhance employee morale and satisfaction.”

She also added that “We are committed to training bankers that will reflect the true value of the profession, help to strategically position Wema Bank amongst the market leaders, set the standards for excellent performance and significantly enhance the perception of our strategic partners and shareholders through the application of innovative strategies”

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s leading innovative bank, is urging customers to continue to bank safely by using ALAT and its USSD platform, *945#.

Following increasing reports of positive COVID-19 cases, the bank has encouraged its customers to take advantage of alternative banking channels (ALAT and *945#) to carry out bank transactions rather than risk going out to branches.

With ALAT, Nigeria’s first digital bank, customers can pay bills, transfer funds, buy airtime and data and perform other financial transactions.
The USSD code *945# provides a quick and easy means to carry out bank transactions even without data. It is the go-to option in areas where the internet network is not so strong or where transactions need to be done urgently.

Funmilayo Falola, Head of Brand and Marketing Communications, Wema Bank explained that “although the lockdown has been lifted and most businesses have resumed, individuals need to continue to observe precautionary measures to stay safe. Using our alternative banking channels will help our customers stay safe by avoiding queues and crowds and also give them one less place to go.”

Wema Bank has before now supported the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 virus by donating to the government fund and also providing palliative materials for the economically challenged.

“Given the new normal, we will continue to ensure the safety of staff and customers by leveraging digital solutions that will reduce the risk of physical contact,” Mrs Falola added.

As businesses around the world resume despite the COVID-19 pandemic, ALAT for Business is set to offer more value to businesses through its digital solution.

The application, which is the corporate version of ALAT, has a broad transaction limit of up to 2 Billion Naira, allowing businesses to carry out as many transactions as they require.

Speaking on its most notable features, Samuel Robson, Head, ALAT for Business disclosed that the application allows account holders with single and multiple signatories operate their account virtually, without stepping into the banking hall to authorize transactions.

“This is a time for businesses to leverage secure platforms that allow them to get on with their businesses virtually as this will help to keep their businesses afloat and keep them safe,” he advised.

Speaking further, he disclosed that with ALAT for Business, entrepreneurs can now, schedule payments to as many as 5,000 beneficiaries at once. “This will free up their much needed time and allow them to carry out more tasks,” he added.

With the new feature, business owners can now carry out transactions without stepping into the banking hall. Mr Samuel Robson explained that this is one of the ways Wema Bank is leveraging digital technology to provide solutions to customers and help fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the Federal Government’s directive to ease the nationwide restrictions on movement and key businesses, Wema Bank Plc will reopen all its branches nationwide.

In a statement released by the bank, from Wednesday, June 3, 2020, all branch offices will resume normal services from 8:00AM to 4:00PM, Monday through to Friday.

The MD/CEO Wema Bank Plc, Mr. Ademola Adebise, explained that “though work resumes in earnest, what is of utmost importance is the health and safety of all”. He stressed that the bank will take necessary precautionary measures to ensure the safety of staff and customers.

Re-echoeing the sentiments of the MD, Head of Brands and Marketing Communications, Mrs Funmilayo Falola disclosed that “while at work, staff are to ensure they keep to all our health protocols, like wearing of face masks, disinfecting work desks regularly, and frequently making use of hand sanitizers”.

Mr Adebise also encouraged bank customers to maintain strict adherence to the safety protocols both in the banking halls and in their respective environments. In his words, “customers are advised to take absolute responsibility for their safety and that of their families. Be vigilant in your neighbourhoods, on the roads, and in the banking halls. It is important for us all to be as alert as ever and not take the eased lockdown as a room for laxity”.

He advised that everyone stays staunch in their resolve to curb the spread of the virus and asserted that both staff and customers will have to work independently to achieve this.

The bank also advised that although the banking halls are open, it is much safer and convenient to bank from home using the alternative channels the Bank has made available, which includes the *945# USSD code and the ALAT mobile and web banking platforms.