Alawuba: UBA unites Africa with PAPSS, LEO integration

The integration of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) into its AI-powered chatbot, LEO is United Bank for Africa (UBA’s) way of uniting Africa and promoting trade in the continent, UBA’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba has said.

He spoke yesterday during a press briefing announcing the platforms’ integration in Lagos.

He disclosed that with the milestone,  UBA becomes the first financial institution to enable cross-border payments on a chatbot platform in Africa, enabling instant, seamless, and secure transactions in local currencies between African countries.

During the programme, the UBA and PAPPS explained the journey which had culminated in the partnership meant to deepen intra-African trade, digitising and aiding seamless transactions across the continent.

Alawuba said; “For us, this is what UBA is all about – connectivity and easing transactions. With PAPSS now fully integrated on our LEO platform, we are not just simplifying payments – we are breaking down the barriers to economic collaboration across African markets and allowing Africans to be able to transact using their own local currencies.

This is aligned with our vision of being at the heart of Africa’s economic transformation, and so, I say, Now, Africa trade begins!!!.”

He emphasised that as the future of Africa, lies with the youth, UBA as a bank continues to seek ways to support the youth to grow the economy, adding that the integration of PAPPS on the LEO Platform is one of such ways.

 “LEO has been in the market for some time. It is the premier chatbot for banking in Africa, and it’s available on platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and iMessage. Today, we’re proud to announce that Leo is now integrated with PAPSS. All you need to do is open a conversation with Leo, say “Hi,” and you’re ready to begin. Leo will guide you through making and receiving cross-border payments, Alawuba said.

Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, PAPPS, Mark Ogbalu III, lauded UBA for being an excellent partner with Afreximbank and PAPPS on their Pan-African journey towards enabling trade on the continent, explained that UBA was one of the first financial institutions to enter into PAPPS.

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Ogbalu said: “Indeed, PAPPS has an excellent run with UBA, which extended from carrying out these transactions from their branches to digital platforms and channels such as LEO. By this, customers can send and receive funds within seconds. This of course has an accelerated impact on trade as there is now an interplay between convenience and seamless transacting.”

He explained that previously, Africa intra-trade used to be very low and limited, but this product and service has come to address this and we are already seeing a lot of impact with this product.

UBA Head, Retail and Digital Banking, Shamsideen Fashola, explained that the innovation means UBA customers can now experience truly borderless banking on a platform they already trust.

 “The recent deployment of PAPSS on our LEO Chat-banking platform is a bold step in that direction. With this, UBA becomes the First Bank in Africa to power cross-border payments through a chatbot, reinforcing our digital leadership and setting a new benchmark in financial services across the continent,” he said.

According to him, early data already shows promising adoption, especially in the Ghana-Nigeria corridor, and the bank remains committed to deepening awareness and driving even more value for customers across our markets.

 “This collaboration is a transformational move that simplifies payments, empowers traders, supports families, and unlocks economic potential in line our goals,” he added.