When ALAT by Wema Bank Plc was launched in 2017, it didn’t just digitise banking; it reimagined what a bank could be.
Wema Bank has since the launch of ALAT seen exponential growth. Between 2018 and 2024, the bank’s customer base expanded significantly.
It reflects on the financials…
Customer deposits surged from just N254 billion in 2017 to N2.524 trillion in 2024, a roughly ten‑fold increase.
Digital transactions tripled over this period as more Nigerians embraced the convenience and accessibility of ALAT’s mobile-first interface.
Deposit volumes also ballooned. Total deposits rose by 36 percent in 2024 alone, increasing from N1.861 trillion in 2023 to N2.524 trillion.
Meanwhile, loans and advances to customers jumped by 50 percent, growing from N801 billion to N1.201 trillion in the same year.
The result was a transformation in the bank’s income profile: non-interest income, including fees and commissions from digital services, rose by over 91 percent, reaching N78.8 billion in 2024.
Equally dramatic was the leap in profitability. Wema Bank’s profit before tax soared by 135 percent, from N43.6 billion in 2023 to N102.5 billion in 2024, fueled by strong lending growth and fee income.
Gross earnings jumped nearly 92 percent, to N432 billion, underpinned by a doubling of interest income to N353.8 billion.
Reshapes bank’s growth trajectory…
This marked shift toward digital and non-interest revenue streams underscores ALAT’s profound role in reshaping the bank’s growth trajectory and highlights yet another reason why the product has been at the forefront of award-winning ovation.
More impressively, shareholders began to receive dividends for the first time in years following ALAT’s launch in 2018, a tangible sign of value creation and sustainable profitability.
The transformation was technological, financial, cultural, and strategic rooted in service to the people.
Shareholders are gaining…
In 2024, Wema Bank declared its highest dividend payout in recent history, approving a dividend of N1 per share at the Annual General Meeting, a powerful indicator of sustained performance, investor confidence, and brilliant app performance.
It introduced a mobile-first, lifestyle-integrated experience that provided Nigerians with more than convenience – it offered empowerment, simplicity, and control.
Global recognition, a significant honour…
Eight years later, the accolades keep pouring in. The latest? Being named Nigeria’s Best Digital Bank at the 2025 Euromoney Awards in The Peninsula London Hotel on July 17, 2025.
The award yet again reaffirms ALAT’s position as the standard-bearer in digital banking in Nigeria and across Africa.
The Euromoney Awards are recognised globally as the gold standard of banking excellence.
This year marks a historic moment: Nigeria’s oldest indigenous bank is standing shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best. For Wema Bank to join this prestigious list is not just remarkable; it’s revolutionary.
The Euromoney award is another motivator to create more innovative solutions. The bank will continue to invest in next-gen infrastructure, AI-enabled services, and open banking solutions designed to serve both local and diaspora communities. Its digital DNA is now firmly embedded across every touchpoint. From empowering developers through sandbox environments to driving the adoption of cashless solutions in rural areas, Wema Bank is determined to shape the future of banking.
The Euromoney Award is a significant honour, but for Wema Bank, it’s not a conclusion. It’s confirmation. A reaffirmation that Wema Bank’s bold bet on ALAT was not only right, but game-changing.
As Nigeria’s oldest indigenous bank steps into its ninth decade, ALAT remains the clearest expression of Wema Bank’s future of possibilities. It’s not just earning global acclaim. It’s defining what digital banking should be.
It is a clear signal that ALAT isn’t merely participating in the digital banking race; it’s leading the charge with bold ideas, impactful innovation, and measurable results as internet penetration in Nigeria approaches 45.4 percent with 107 million active users.
ALAT’s recognition is more than ceremonial; it validates a visionary digital journey.
It signals a shift in perception: that excellence in digital banking can emerge not only from tech giants in Asia or Europe but also from a Nigerian institution rooted in service, resilience, and reinvention. It is a powerful message to millions of Nigerians that world-class solutions can come from homegrown vision, expertise, and persistence.
At its core, ALAT by Wema is a philosophy, a commitment to democratize access to finance, especially for small businesses and digital innovators.
CEO speaks…
“ALAT was a mindset shift,” said Moruf Oseni, MD/CEO, Wema Bank Plc. “We didn’t just launch a digital bank; we launched a new way of thinking about financial access, one where every Nigerian, regardless of location or income, could be empowered to thrive.”
Designed for both tech-savvy users and the financially excluded, ALAT made banking a lifestyle enabler. Beyond checking balances and transferring funds, users book flights, buy movie tickets, access loans, invest, save automatically, and enjoy marketplace discounts all through one seamless app.
The clean, intuitive interface makes ALAT accessible to first-time digital bankers and sophisticated enough for Nigeria’s booming SME segment. Its simplicity hides a smart backend built with real user behaviours in mind.
From the outset, ALAT’s development team, led by Moruf Oseni, envisioned a bank that would evolve with its users. As Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT was considered a move so radical at the time that it flipped conventional banking wisdom on its head. “We had a bold vision to create something entirely new and never-before-done in Africa. ALAT was our way of proving that digital banking could be smart, simple, and truly inclusive,” Oseni explained. ALAT was more than a tool; it was a shift of perspective, built by Nigerians for Nigerians.
Making banking accessible with ALAT…
The ALAT team’s vision quickly translated into results. From its first week, ALAT attracted buzz from young Nigerians who saw in it a refreshing departure from the rigidity of traditional banking. It offered a simple, powerful digital experience tailored to everyday financial needs. With ALAT, banking became accessible and aspirational, appealing to the ambitions of a new generation.
Within its first year, ALAT had already acquired hundreds of thousands of users, scaling over time to millions. With all the lifestyle options made available to app users, ALAT wasn’t just a bank; it became a digital companion for modern life. It simplifies routines, empowers financial control, and restores dignity to everyday banking.
Its success changed the game. Not only did it attract a wave of digital-savvy users, but ALAT also inspired a generation of fintechs and legacy banks to rethink their approach. Wema Bank sparked a quiet revolution in how financial institutions imagined services and delivered in Africa. The impact was clear: access to finance became easier for the youth, salary earners, entrepreneurs, and everyday Nigerians previously excluded from formal banking. ALAT brought banking to the palm of the unbanked and underbanked, with millions of users benefitting from its innovations to date.
ALAT was the first traditional bank in Nigeria to offer virtual dollar cards, biometric facial verification for onboarding and high-value transactions, and AI-powered savings automation. Every innovation had one goal: accessibility, but security was not left behind. ALAT’s use of facial biometrics has helped reduce fraud incidents by 40 percent. Robotic process automation has driven transaction accuracy up to 91 percent. Combined with AI-led fraud detection, ALAT ensures that users enjoy speed without compromising safety. These innovations are key differentiators in a competitive market saturated with apps but short on trust.
The ALAT ecosystem also evolved. ALAT for Business, ALAT Xplore, and ALATPay all stemmed from the original platform. ALAT for Business is one of Wema Bank’s most impactful innovations for Nigeria’s small and medium enterprises. The platform lets businesses pay up to 5,000 people at once, accelerating payroll and vendor settlements while streamlining operations. The platform provides multi-user access and supports corporate debit and virtual cards. Businesses can conduct foreign exchange transactions of up to $10,000 daily. It also includes invoice and payroll tools, all without hidden fees. With over 100,000 downloads, it empowers Nigerian SMEs and continues to drive ALAT’s industry acclaim.
Wema Bank created ALAT Xplore for the younger generation, making it Nigeria’s first licensed banking app for teenagers. Introduced in 2023, it provides financial literacy, savings tools, and parental controls, enabling young users to learn money management from an early age. With thousands of active accounts, ALAT Xplore is a bold investment in Nigeria’s financial future. The platform equips teenagers with the tools to build good habits early. It introduces them to a world where financial responsibility is accessible and empowering. In doing so, it sets a strong foundation for a new generation of financially literate Nigerians, a powerful reason ALAT remains at the forefront of award-winning digital innovation.
ALATPay is Wema’s instant-settlement payment gateway, and a game-changer for Nigerian businesses. Designed with e-commerce, retail, and service providers in mind, ALATPay allows instant transactions and provides real-time visibility into payment activity. It ensures liquidity, reduces failed transactions, and strengthens cash flow for businesses of all sizes. With thousands of merchants onboarded, ALATPay is emerging as the top choice for seamless business payments and remains a key pillar of why ALAT continues to earn global acclaim for digital excellence.
The numbers reflect this award-winning innovation…
What makes ALAT by Wema so deserving of international acclaim, like the Euromoney Award, is its role as an enabler, ensuring that its impact extends far beyond profits. Wema Bank designed ALAT to democratise access, and it has delivered.
From gig workers and market women to students and remote freelancers, ALAT placed banking tools in the hands of people who financial institutions have historically left out. For gig workers and digital entrepreneurs, it provided banking on the go. For the youth, it offered a gateway to savings and financial discipline. The app didn’t just simplify banking; it built bridges to a more inclusive financial system.
For women, Wema Bank created SARA by Wema, powered by ALAT’s infrastructure. SARA nurtures a thriving community of over 100,000 women and provides tools for financial empowerment. Since its inception, the platform has facilitated over N200 million in microgrants and financial support, recorded over 2 million engagements across digital touchpoints, hosted more than 500 virtual and in-person empowerment events, and connected women with mentors, healthcare access, and business growth opportunities. The result is a measurable shift in how women in underserved areas view and use money for more than just survival, but also as a tool for independence.
For cooperatives, a longtime backbone of communal finance in Nigeria, Wema Bank introduced CoopHub. This ALAT-powered platform digitises cooperative society management and has improved the financial management of over 5,700 groups across the country. This solution addresses a critical gap in Nigeria’s informal economy by helping co-ops (with as few as 10 members to as many as 2.5 million members) manage membership, contributions, disbursements, and reporting all in one place. CoopHub empowers community-led financial models to thrive in the digital age. By digitising cooperatives nationwide, Wema Bank is ensuring that economic inclusion extends beyond urban centres and into the heart of community wealth-building structures.
Wema’s Phygital experience caters to customers who still prefer in-branch service, seamlessly merging it with digital self-service. It brings modern banking to people. All of this reflects the core principle behind ALAT – making financial solutions truly inclusive.
ALAT set a new benchmark in the industry. ..
While other banks were still experimenting with digital extensions of traditional banking, ALAT set a new benchmark by designing an entirely digital-native experience that is agile, intuitive, and human-centred. And that thinking continues to define Wema Bank’s roadmap.
Still, the most important legacy of ALAT is the human one. For every award, there are millions of stories: a student saving for school, a mother starting her first business, a cooperative digitising its treasury, or a teenager learning about compound interest. Each one speaks to ALAT’s power as an app that stands as a platform of transformation; one truly worthy of admiration and celebration. Looking ahead, Wema is not slowing down.
