75% of customers have embraced digital platforms

Advanced analytics, AI and ML help the Nigerian commercial bank to identify and manage risks more effectively:

Adekunle Frank Alarapon points out that WEMA Bank has increased security and reduced fraud through enhanced authentication methods

Wema Bank is a Nigerian commercial bank, licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. It is the pioneer of Africa's first fully digital bank, ALAT, and one of Nigeria's most resilient banks. It serves over one million individuals, families and businesses across Nigeria, helping them achieve their personal and financial goals.

Adekunle Frank Alarapon, Head - Retail Segments at Wema Bank, is a professional with certifications in banking, product development, strategy, ICT, research methodology and sales. His forte is in creating new businesses and building ecosystems with the use of modern-day technology. He has done BTech and MBA.

Mehul Dani: What are the changes made in the digital strategy for customers of your bank in the current FY? How has your bank benefited from the implementation of digital strategy in recent years?

Adekunle Alarapon: Wema Bank is continually driven towards becoming fully digital in its thinking, approach, operations, and ways of doing business. Hence, our strategies are geared towards eliminating every element of traditional banking through customer growth and sales optimization, channel migration, value chain optimization, and customer lifecycle management. The aim is to use technology to drive the achievement of these objectives through automating manual processes, creating personalized customer experience, and using smart infrastructure, big data, AI, ML, cybersecurity & cloud-based services.

We also leverage open banking and APIs to share customer data securely with trusted third-party providers, leading to improved CX, expanded product offerings, and new revenue streams.