Yemisi Izuora
AS part of efforts to make banking “simpler and smarter” for its teeming customers, the Union Bank Plc on Wednesday unveiled two of its upgraded branches in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
It also launched an innovative savings product, UnionKorrect, which it said was designed to assist customers “save small and win big.”
The two upgraded branches of the bank unveiled on Wednesday were those on Bank Road, Dugbe, and the University College Hospital (UCH), in a transformation process the Director Transformation Union Bank Plc, Joe Mbulu, described as “work in progress.”
Speaking at the event, Joe Mbulu, Director Transformation Union Bank plc said the bank had in the past three years been working and improving on its physical infrastructure to provide customers more comfortable banking services.
“We’ve done a lot of work in the background such that when customers come into the new Union Bank, they can see it’s as good as (if not better than) any other bank in Nigeria. In fact, our goal is to make it better than any other bank in Nigeria,” he said.
But beyond the physical infrastructure upgrade, Mbulu said the bank had improved on its operations, especially its technology. Customers can now walk into any of the branches and open an account (including processing of ATM/verve card) in less than 30 minutes.
He said, “Our transformation transcends the physical branch. We used to have archaic technology, we admit. The old Union Bank was a bit difficult to work with; but we have currently the best in banking technology in Nigeria.
“We have (also) built a world class data centre in Lagos; and we have a backup of that databank. So, the era of ‘system down’ in Union Bank is over.
He said in the area of operations, the new Union Bank has centralized basic operations, services and processes, so that in all the branches across the nation, there will be “uniform processes” of simpler and smarter banking operations.
Speaking with newsmen, the bank’s Head of Strategy Union Bank plc , Lola Cardoso, said the launch of the branches was an evidence of the transformation the bank had gone through in the last three years as well as the transformation that is yet to come.
“As you can see, there is a difference between what you see today and what was here before. We present a simpler, smarter bank. Beside the ambience being more comfortable for our customers, it also demonstrates the fact that we’ve invested in technology. Customers can come in and come out in short time; get attended to with more improved services, and at the same time (we) have a brand identity that is more vibrant than we had before.
“So, really this is about making banking simpler so that people can focus on the things that matter most,” she said.
‘We commenced with our people by optimizing our talent base. We hired the right people for the right roles and aligned our compensation with industry standard.
We strengthened our technology by undertaking the task of rolling out a brand new banking platform and successfully implemented it. We built a state of the art datacentre. We also built the central processing centre to streamline and standardize operations across board.
We restructured our business model to focus clearly on banking. We also re-enhanced our product and service offerings for our retail, commercial and corporate segments.’she noted
Cardoso added that ‘Our goal remains singular, to enhance our customer experience. We have begun refurbishing and renovating our branches and today you will notice that our branches have modern aesthetics. We would ensure to maintain a minimum standard across our branches and to ensure they are located in the right areas serving the right kind of customers.
The Osi Olubadan, High Chief (Sen.) Lekan Balogun, who represented the Olubadan of Ibadan at the occasion, said after inspecting the new look Union Bank: “It promises to be as new technology in banking; one that we may never have seen before in this country. I’m impressed.
It could be recalled that the product was originally launched in Lagos on Monday November 2, 2015.