A Wema Bank Story on West Africa’s First Fully Digital Bank - ALAT Integrating innovation, creativity & opportunity Dr. Konstantinos Tsanis, Chartered FCSI Chief Innovation and Data Officer, WEMA / ALAT Future of Finance-West Africa 2019, 25th Apr Lagos, Nigeria
Wema Bank’s History Nigeria’s First and Oldest Had one of the smallest branch indigenous Bank since 1945. networks in the country Perceived as a bank for Senior citizens Had no differentiating A Western/Regional bank proposition(s) and no chance without the capacity to serve on to lead the pack a national basis Had some of its internal Unattractive offerings/ processes automated propositions to young professionals and entrepreneurs Less influential in the Not easily or readily considered banking space for banking or business relationships
Problems of Banks 1. CHALLENGES OF 3. THE CHALLENGE ELECTRONIC TO MAXIMIZE PAYMENT SYSTEM EFFICIENCY OF THE BANK 2. CYBER-SECURITY 4. THE LOW-COST ISSUES IN BANKING CUSTOMER- Profitability ORIENTED SERVICE FOR BANKS Every institution’s desire is to scale up and ultimately make profit…but status quo doesn’t help This led most banks (especially in Nigeria) to launch their businesses in other countries within Africa and some part of Europe.
Nigeria’s Market Opportunities: 180,000,000+ Population Size 30,000,000 Unique Bank Accounts 30,000,000 Debit Cards in Nigeria 17,000 ATMs Available in the Country 148,398,425 Mobile Subscribers 100,904,668 Internet Penetration 60% Unbanked Addressable Market Sources : Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, CBN, NIBSS, EFInA, EIU Viewswire, Jumia Report
Why ALAT? To become a leading retail bank in the medium to long term. We were tasked with the following; ▪ Grow its customer base, attract more investors and give more desirable ROI to all its stakeholders. ▪ Make the bank accessible nationwide without increasing physical branches ▪ Grow the brand to become competitive in the industry in terms of service offerings ▪ Provide offerings that will be attractive to be millennials – young and senior adults
Why WEMA ?
Physical expansion, irrespective of the scope, cannot match leveraging the power of technology to grow your footprint.
The time has come for DT in FIs…
ALAT by Wema We are Nigeria's first fully digital bank designed to meet the needs of the millennial lifestyle and promote saving. ALAT helps the customer save TIME and MONEY by taking away the need to visit a physical bank to open an account, put money in the account and get a bank card. Even more relevant to the millennial lifestyle, ALAT is an effective money manager for scheduling recurring bill payments and transfers. We are designed to be SIMPLE , RELIABLE and CONVENIENT to use.
The Road to Launch... Process Design/ Economic, Socio- Reengineering Economic and & Automation industry study 18 UXD, Research & UI & Development Develo pment Months before Launch Personas & Market Analysis Customers and Intelligence Journey gathering Design
Target Audience & Acquisition Strategy IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY Penetrate the 1 Professional & 3 1 Entrepreneur space 2 --- Integrate Loans, 2 Loyalty & Rewards, AI, ChatBot, CLM Young Students Professionals Driving eCommerce Young Partnerships, 3 Entrepreneurs Referrals & Loyalty Superhighway with ALAT Pay 350,000 Accounts + N5bn in Deposit Volume
Products Offered: • Open Account in 5 minutes or less • Fund account with any bank card (international and local) or from other bank accounts • Free debit card issuance/delivery & In-app Card Activation with delivery status tracker • Instant virtual Dollar Card • Group Savings – Target & Rotating • Microloans without paperwork • Transfers and bills payment • Savings goals • Discounts, perks, etc vin vin ALAT for ALAT for Clusters ALAT for Tertiary ALAT for Business Individuals /Corporate Institutions
Achievements so far: z 22,000+ 400,000+ N102bn Microloans disbursed Accounts opened Transactions Executed N N N 15,000+ 100,000+ ALAT is now recognized as the Virtual Cards leader and benchmark for Savings Goals Created issued digital banks in Nigeria
Awards & Recognitions: We don’t just see awards, we see reasons to do better. Best Mobile Banking Application 2017 Most Innovative World Finance Top 40 Global – Best & Most Innovating Bank,Africa NIRA Digital Solution ( World Summit Awards ) World Finance AWARDS 2018 Best Digital Bank BEST E-Payment Website in Nigeria 2017 World Finance 14 and still counting..
What's the Next Step for WEMA Bank and ALAT?
Establishing an Innovation Vision Confidential, WEMA Bank
Strategic Innovation Choices Open Close Incremental Radical/Disruptive Technology push Market Pull Product Process System Component Confidential, WEMA Bank
Areas considered for Innovation within WEMA / ALAT Large potential market for WEMA/ALAT. An untapped market for Nigeria and for Africa SME lending as a whole, and if done well it can raise our profile globally. There is a clear mandate for focus on this area and the stakeholders are already working to develop our offerings Critical component for lending automation for both retail and SME lending. A newly Alternative Credit Scoring emerging field which if done successfully can become regional or global standard and help WEMA build a very international profile Growing market, with large potential. Some existing work in progress, and a stronger Remittance market focus will help achieve accelerated growth, while enabling penetration of a new market Designing the branches of the future, to be able to capture new markets and customer Branches/ATMs of the Future segments, through the combination of technology and branch innovation A growing market segment for the bank, which can also lead to strategic alignment in other areas. Some work in progress, further work needed to understand alternative Betting models, best practices and offerings in different customer segments An area open for transformation and adoption for best practices, especially given its Trade Finance criticality for SMEs and the efficiencies arising through automation. Discussions already initiated Core capability for future operations of WEMA. Focus on multiple data sources, and Big Data and Analytics innovative ways to help performance measurement, CRM, predictive analytics, and decision making, which is can have substantial impact on raising WEMA’s profile One of the main functionalities that increases customer engagement for all highly digitized banks. Investigation of needs, priorities and preferences, followed by PFM benchmarking of best user experience, to help increase conversion rates A ripe area for innovation, to help the bank strengthen its presence in the SME and POS mSME markets across the country. If done successfully, it can also be a model of adoption for other markets/banks/countries Confidential, WEMA Bank
Areas considered for Innovation within WEMA / ALAT Digital currency is a type of currency available in digital form. It exhibits properties Digital Currency similar to physical currencies, but can allow for instantaneous transactions and borderless transfer-of-ownership. Refers to due diligence activities that financial institutions and other regulated KYC companies must perform to ascertain relevant information from their clients for the purpose of doing business with them. It also refers to AML regulations and procedures. Self-guided online wealth management service that provides automated investment Roboadvisors advice at low costs and low account minimums, employing portfolio management algorithms The use of technology innovations designed to squeeze out savings and efficiency from Insurance the current insurance industry model. A digital ledger in which transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency are Blockchain recorded chronologically and publicly. A system that securely stores users' payment information and passwords for numerous Digital Wallet payment methods and websites. A modular software system designed to integrate the main functional areas of an ERP Solutions organization's business processes into a unified system The state of being protected against the criminal or unauthorized use of electronic data, Cybersecurity or the measures taken to achieve this New field within the financial services industry that utilizes information technology to RegTech enhance regulatory processes. It puts a particular emphasis on regulatory monitoring, reporting and compliance and is thus benefiting the finance industry. Confidential, WEMA Bank
ALAT as a Platform [Enterprise] Enterprise – Business to Business (B2B) 1 2 3 4 5 Enterprise Solution Payment Warehouse Driving eCommerce FMCG Payment Partnerships – Open Banking & API - Agency Banking - Billers Super Highway Management Tool led - Remittance - Aggregation - FMCGs 20
FinTech Collaboration is of Primary Importance for WEMA/ALAT Confidential, WEMA Bank
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