The United Bank for Africa (UBA) says it’s introducing a machine that will allow its customers to create their own debit cards. This means that they will no longer need staff at banks to get new banking cards for them.
The bank announced its new self-service debit card printer at the opening of the 2019 Lagos International Trade Fair at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos. UBA is the headline sponsor for this year’s fair.
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Speaking about the new service, Victor Osadolor, CEO of UBA Africa, said that the new machine would encourage more individuals and businesses to adopt debit cards as a means of payment, and increase the options they have for making financial transactions.
In an email sent to its customers, the bank explained that the machine will enable them to make their own cards in less than three minutes. It also indicated that the device would be made available at UBA bank branches in the near future.
This latest offering by the bank comes at a time of a renewed drive to implement the CBN’s cashless policy. Recently, it ushered in charges for cash withdrawals and deposits at banks which exceed specified limits. This has brought a lot of focus back on electronic transactions, including those involving the use of debit cards.
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However, questions have also been asked about the multiple charges levied by banks on the use of debit cards for financial transactions, as well as monthly card maintenance fees. It’s thought that these fees may be stifling the wider use of bank cards. There’s also no indication that these charges will be taken off in the near future.
The debit card printer is one of several innovations introduced by UBA in its attempts to gain a greater share of the market for banking services. It may be recalled that in 2018, it introduced a chatbot, Leo, to aid its communication with customers. The AI-powered assistant is currently available on WhatsApp, where it takes on customers’ account balance queries, fund transfer requests, and bill payments, among others.
Featured image source: How To Tech Naija
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