Wema Bank upgrades ALAT App with voice banking, contactless payments

Wema Bank has inaugurated an upgraded version of its digital banking platform, ALAT by Wema, and introduced new solutions aimed at making everyday banking faster and more reliable for customers.

This is contained in a statement by its media unit on Monday in Lagos.

According to the statement, the upgrade aims to address key customer pain points around accessibility, transaction speed and service reliability through features such as voice banking, contactless “Tap and Pay” transactions and uptime prediction technology.

It added that the enhanced platform, tagged ”ALAT: The Evolution”, marked a major step in its digital transformation drive and reinforced its position as Nigeria’s most innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank.

The bank also said the upgraded ALAT app was built on speed, intelligence and user-centric design, and was positioned to deliver a more seamless and dependable digital banking experience for individuals and businesses in Nigeria’s growing digital economy.

According to the bank, the new voice banking feature, known as SAW, allows customers to perform banking transactions using natural voice commands, improving ease of use and accessibility, while Tap and Pay enables quick and secure contactless payments.

The introduction of uptime prediction, the bank said, was designed to boost transparency and customer confidence by providing insights into service availability and reliability.

Announcing the upgrade, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said the development was driven by the institution commitment to redefining digital banking in Africa.

”By understanding the future of banking and listening closely to our customers, we have upgraded ALAT by Wema to a digital banking platform that is smart, intelligent and dependable.

”ALAT: The Evolution is more than an upgrade. It is a clear demonstration of our commitment to redefining digital banking in Africa,” he said.

Oseni also said that the new version reinforced the bank’s promise to deliver innovations that enhance how customers live, work and transact daily.

He explained that existing customers could migrate seamlessly by updating the ALAT app on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and signing in with their current details, with account information and transaction history remaining intact.

”For new customers, on-boarding can be completed by downloading the ALAT by Wema app and following the “Get Started” process,” he explained.

Also speaking, the Chief Digital Officer,Wema Bank, Mr Olusegun Adeniyi, said the upgrade was designed to improve not just functionality but the overall banking experience.

‘Adeniyi also said that by integrating voice banking, contactless payments and predictive reliability, the bank was delivering a platform that would respond intelligently to customer needs.

He added that the upgrade reflected the bank’s long-term digital vision of building an adaptive, intuitive and consistently available digital banking platform.