Customer insight inspires UBA ‘Next Gen’ product
With deep customer understanding informed by thorough research, 65-year-old United Bank of Africa last week introduced a banking product it called Next Gen. The product comes with features that are likely to resonate with the intended target audience.
Significantly, the product, designed for the educated and enlightened teenager and young adult from ages of 13 to 34, allows the bank to take on a mentorship role to guide the customers into a future life of prosperity.
Importantly, the product is coming at a time the Nigerian vast youth population is looking for mentorship and guidance through career supported by finance options.
As the Nigerian economy grows, this is the time to capture and mould tomorrow leaders through guidance supported by financial options as this will create a mark in the personal and academic development of the individual.
Next Gen product account as the product developers said is about capturing and engaging the next generation of educated and enlightened professionals, employees, entrepreneurs, self employed persons, from all walks of life, early in their financial life cycle.
One of significant benefits of the product is that it grows with the customer from his or her teenage years to when he or she becomes a young adult. “It takes care of the unique needs of teenage customers when they are in secondary school through university to when they get their first job, start a family and even consider building their first house. At each of these critical stages in their lives, the Next Gen account provides financial options and opportunities to make life more comfortable for them and their family.” Phillip Oduoza, the bank CEO explained.
Breaking down the unique features of the Next Gen account, Iyke Idukpaye, head, current accounts and credit products, UBA, explained that teenagers who open a Next Gen account will become part of the UBA Teen Fan Club, which offers great opportunities and great networking.
He also explained that as teenagers with a Next Gen account grow and gain admission into tertiary institutions, they will enjoy great mentorship, internships and career advisory reserved only for account holders.
The benefits of being a Next Gen account holder extends further as account holders graduate and prepare for the world of work and business. At this stage, account holders will enjoy exclusive invitations to job and career fairs as well as entrepreneurship workshops.
Account holders will also have access to 24-hour online banking services on UBA’s highly acclaimed internet banking platform, besides other privileges like specially branded MasterCard, interest bearing savings accounts, career advisory, scholarships, work place experience schemes with the UBA Group, entrepreneurial skills development workshops and social media engagements.
Analysts expect that the product if well market will outlive generations as the bank is not only encouraging banking culture among the 70 percent of Nigeria’s estimated 167 million population but it is entering into a pact with every young person across Africa to guide them into a future world of prosperity because they are the Next Generation and the future.
The young people of today have needs that are totally different from the needs of their parents. The world they live in now is totally different from the world their parents grew up.
According to Oduoza, “We know that today’s world has no boundaries as technology has dissolved geographical barriers. The youth have strong urge to be successful and to be able to compete globally. They want to be on top of their game, be the first to know, have the latest and most savvy gadgets and most importantly get the best jobs or start a business of their own,” but this cannot be achieved without mentorship and guidance and this is where UBA product account fits in.
Daniel Obi