ALAT by Wema delivers financial services and strengthens lives through its digital banking services

One of the most important slogans for driving financial inclusion in this part of the world is “banking the unbanked.” This has led to the birth of many fintechs that offer solutions to drive this inclusion.

Traditional banks are also innovating and releasing standalone products that do well and push the boundaries of banking.

ALAT by Wema is an innovative digital bank that has emerged from traditional banks and drives the drive for financial inclusion. The platform enables users to register and get a bank account number at their convenience, and its offers have more.

Interestingly, ALAT is a proud sponsor of the Fintech Summit. We caught up with Morolake Philip-Ladipo, Acting Head, Marketing Communications and Investor Relations at Wema Bank, who discussed what ALAT does and why they are excited about The Fintech Summit.

Can you tell us more about ALAT by Wema and your offer?

We are building Nigeria’s most dominant digital banking platform. We believe that your bank should support your ambitions and help you achieve much more. That’s why we built ALAT, Nigeria’s first fully digital bank, to offer tailored solutions for all your banking needs while supporting your lifestyle choices, business requirements and recreational ventures.

ALAT offers a simple, reliable and practical 360 digital banking experience. Our technology inspires people to manage their money in a different way, while allowing them to tap on the go from anywhere.

It takes about the same time as eating a burger to register with our branchless bank and get a functional account number, access to loans and a free debit card delivered to you with the ability to lock and unlock at any time.

ALAT stands for – Audacious, Limitless, Aspirational and Timeless. ALAT was borne out of the will to take bold steps by Wema Bank and that defines the bold tag; it is this spirit that drives our brand positioning, campaigns and initiatives – the aim is to ‘ginger’ young Nigerians (the ALAT test) to go all out for their goals and aspirations.

ALAT offers a branchless and paperless banking experience. The focus is to improve lifestyle through innovation. It is a bank without borders, and its core is embedded in people’s innate desire to live freely, making it borderless.

With flexible options to manage funds, enjoy lifestyle banking and enjoy amazing offers and discounts, ALAT gives you the extra drive to strive for bigger things (and go all out to achieve them)

Innovation is timeless – it transcends different generations, improves lives and supports development. The dream of ALAT has always been to build a brand that will outlive its founders and continue to meet the economic needs of Nigerians.

We have the vision to be the dominant digital platform in Africa, delivering seamless financial services, and we have a mission to empower lives through innovation.

What excites you about the fintech summit?

We have seen the efforts and progress of the Techpoint team over the years and its contribution to the growth of technology in Nigeria. We cannot deny the fact that the future of human development not only in Nigeria but the whole world will be driven by technology in various sectors like health, education, finance etc.

As the first fully digital bank not only in Nigeria but in Africa, we are very excited about technology with a particular focus on the financial sector; That is why the Fintech summit is of interest to us as a brand and business. We have enabled many Fintechs that are fully operational in the Nigeria ecosystem offering their services from payments, database management, inclusive banking, investments, loans etc.

As a dominant digital bank, we want to meet more companies and startups, so that we can offer our services to help them operate seamlessly, and offer solutions to the public.

What pain points do you think need to be addressed in Africa’s fintech sector?

Every ecosystem has its challenges and idiosyncrasies, and the fintech space is no stranger to that. As the first fully digital bank, we paved the way and through our efforts and technology have strengthened and enabled the operation of fintech.

I think there are still areas where fintech can create solutions. The needs of people and the wishes of customers are constantly increasing, which gives room and opportunity for more technology-driven solutions and opportunities.

With the new start-up act, we will have new guidelines that will ensure a good environment and business for these start-ups.

Loans, investments, customer validation and budgeting, to name a few pain points in the Fintech sector, need to be addressed.

With increasing needs and demands from customers and more attention to the activities of fraudsters, cyber security in the fintech area cannot be overemphasized.

What impact would you expect from conversations that will be held at the fintech summit?

Solutions and new opportunities for startups to emerge from the problems identified will bring more revenue to the ecosystem and improve the standard of living of the average Nigerian.