United Bank for Africa has taken the African category at the 2026 Banker Technology Awards, with the recognition centred on its work in digital payments, e-business, and the use of artificial intelligence to support cross-border banking across more than 20 African markets. The awards drew close to 200 submissions across 17 regional and product categories this year, with winners broadly reflecting a shift toward technology as embedded infrastructure in financial services rather than a standalone layer.
What Earned the Recognition
UBA’s winning entry was anchored by Leo, the bank’s AI-powered chatbot, which has been integrated with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS). The integration allows customers to initiate cross-border transfers in local currencies through a conversational interface, removing the need to rely on traditional banking channels to move money between African markets. The Banker, which administers the awards, assessed UBA’s approach as evidence of a bank that has placed technology at the centre of its growth strategy, with the cross-border transfer infrastructure as its most visible expression.
Emmanuel Lamptey, UBA’s Executive Director Designate for Digital Banking, received the award on behalf of the bank. He framed the Leo investment as a direct response to the cost and friction that have historically made intra-African payments difficult for ordinary customers.
RedApp Gets a Comprehensive Upgrade
Alongside the award announcement, UBA relaunched its RedApp mobile banking platform following a full upgrade. The revised application is designed to deliver a faster and more intuitive banking experience for customers across the bank’s markets. Alero Ladipo, UBA’s Group Head for Brand, Marketing and Corporate Communications, described the relaunch as a new chapter in how the bank serves its customers digitally.
UBA’s Continental Footprint
The award comes as UBA continues to operate across 20 African countries as well as the United Kingdom, United States, France, and the United Arab Emirates. The bank serves over 45 million customers globally and employs 25,000 people across the group. Its scale gives Leo’s PAPSS integration a wide surface area to demonstrate impact, particularly on corridors where cross-border payment infrastructure has historically been the most fragmented
