UBA Earns N78.90bn From e-banking as Digitalisation Bolsters Profit 

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc is taking advantage of the country’s favorable demographics and the proliferation of smartphones to magnify its electronic banking income as the Pan African lender continues to use advanced technologies to meet customers’ various needs.

There has been a predilection for online transactions by customers since the coronavirus pandemic that forced them to stay at home and transfer money using their mobile phones. It is said that the world is going paperless.

For the year ended December 2022, UBA’s digital banking income spiked by 22.13 percent to N78.90 billion from N64.60 billion the previous year.

A breakdown of the digital banking income sh0ws mobile banking revenue surged by 203 percent to N19.31 billion in the period under review from N6.37 billion the previous year.

Online banking income spiked by 34 percent to N34.94 billion in December 2022 from N26.13 billion the previous year.

The pan African lender has over 30 million customers across geographies, contributing to the growth in revenue and improving profitability. Of this number, over 10.3 million are below 30years with high long-term value.

Across Africa, UBA has established strategic partnerships to significantly boost our payment offerings.

Of course, personal cheques are becoming obsolete as a lot of customers prefer online transactions for transfers much more easy and convenient rather than keeping booklets and going to the banking floor to cash the money.

However, UBA and peer rivals are beset by intense competition from disruptors like financial technology firms and digital banks who are leveraging on a youthful population, increase in smartphone penetration and focus on financial inclusion and focus on cashless society by the regulator to consolidate their share of the Nigerian digital market.

Between 2014 and 2019, Nigeria’s bustling fintech scene raised more than $600 million in funding, attracting 25 percent ($122 million) of the $491.6 million raised by African tech startups in 2019 alone—second only to Kenya, which attracted $149 million, according to data from global management consulting, McKinsey & Company.

According to a 2022 press release, Nigeria recorded 3.7 billion real-time payments in 2021, earning the sixth spot among countries with the biggest real-time payments markets.

It is important to note UBA uses its digitalisation to underpin efficiency and profitability. Cost to income ratio fell to 59.10 percent in the period under review from 15.60 percent the previous year. Return on average equity (ROAE) moved to 19.70 percent in December 2022 from 15.60 percent the previous year.

Fees and commission income were up 32.70 percent to N210.52 billion in the period under review from N158.64 billion the previous year.