Date Published: 05/26/11

UBA appointed lead Bank for Collection of Christian Pilgrim's Fares

Lagos; 26/05/2011: United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, the pan African banking group, has been appointed by the Federal Government of Nigeria as the lead bank for the collection of Christian pilgrims’ fares.  Under this arrangement, UBA will collect the traveling fares from applicants who intend to participate in the pilgrimage to Rome or Jerusalem through the annual collection scheme arrangement of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC).

T he scheme has since commenced in over 700 UBA business offices nationwide. By this appointment, UBA will ensure collection of traveling fares from applicants who intend to participate in the pilgrimage to Rome or Israel through the annual collection scheme arrangement of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC).

Speaking on the appointment of UBA by the Nigerian Pilgrim Commission, Mr. Lekan Balogun, Divisional Head, E-Banking, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, said the bank will leverage on its nationwide network of over 700 business offices to process collections through the  e-Tranzact electronic platform.  

Commenting on the modalities to ensure a seamless transaction, Balogun said that a prospective applicant will be required to go to any of the UBA business offices nationwide, fill the normal UBA deposit slip and make payment of Three Hundred and Fifty thousand naira only (N350,000.00), the cost for an intending Pilgrim participating in the holy pilgrimage.

He also said intending pilgrims can make the payment in installments, prior the commencement of necessary documentation process with the NCPC.

The appointment of UBA Plc comes on the heels of a recent appointment as a collecting bank by Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), an agency of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to receive all revenue payments on behalf of the agency, from the general public through an electronic c collection platform known as UBA Global Bank Collect. This is in a bid to fully automate the land application request processing in the Federal Capital Territory.

United Bank for Africa Plc is one of Africa’s leading financial institutions offering universal banking to more than 7 million customer accounts across Africa and key financial centers. It currently operates in 1 8 African countries with presence in New York, London and Paris thus being able to effectively arbitrage Africa and African related businesses globally