n a first for Nigeria, customers of United Bank for Africa can now conduct their favorite banking activities in a secure and convenient manner, by communicating with their bank in a verified WhatsApp chat.

This capability is made possible through Clickatell Transact’s Control platform integrated with the WhatsApp Business API.

The Control platform for Chat Banking allows banks to roll out commonly used banking activities like checking balances, money transfer and purchasing digital products and services across popular communication channels like USSD and now WhatsApp. The platform offers flexibility, reliability, fraud and risk management for banks and a convenient on-demand banking capability for consumers wherever they are.

Nigeria is recognized as ground zero for global financial inclusion with a rapid accelerating move from the informal economy to the formal sector. A Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) survey, “EFInA Access to Financial Services 2016 Survey”, assessed that 48.6%, or 46.9 million Nigerians, of the adult population are now formally served by banks or similar.

The introduction of Chat Banking from Clickatell is accelerating the banking adoption curve by eliminating the business and operational overhead required to roll out convenience banking across popular communication channels and in different countries.

Consumers will be able to conduct their banking activities on WhatsApp and USSD with additional channels slated for 2019.

This article first appeared on fintechnews.ch.