United Capital Plc (UCAP) said its newly established Ucee Microfinance Bank would help deepen financial inclusion and aid access to financial services.

Speaking at the launch of this first digital microfinance institution, a subsidiary of UCAP in Lagos, the Group Chief Executive Officer of UCAP, Peter Ashade, said the company would deploy a hybrid banking model by integrating the technology of a neo bank with an operational infrastructure of a traditional bank to deliver efficient services to the people.

Ashade said technology adoption has facilitated over 40 per cent of its business activities in the past two years, noting that the launch of the microfinance bank is another opportunity to leverage technology to unlock opportunities in the space.

He lamented that approximately 40 million Nigerians remained formally excluded from the financial ecosystem, noting that the microfinance bank would reduce the plight of Nigerians living in the hinterland in accessing financial services.

Managing Director of Ucee, Esther Adeola-Balogun, said the financial institution was opened to democratise access to credit and innovative banking solutions.

Adeola-Balogun stated that the bank would redefine banking to be more than just transactions but to serve as a partner in supporting and enhancing the quality of lives of customers.

She explained that a financial institution’s medium of reaching the public is through its mobile Application, which is a one-stop shop for all its services and products for both public and private sector salary earners as well as traders.

She added that the bank’s customers would enjoy access to a wide range of services which includes loans, savings, deposits, cardless withdrawals and bill payments, among others.

Chairman of UBA Group, Tony Elumelu, lauded the board and management of UCAP and Ucee for the milestone.
He expressed optimism that the microfinance bank would thrive with the crop of experienced and qualified hands it has attracted.