You can hardly get any work done these days without stumbling on an ad informing you about an app promising to do something no one has ever done before. It’s either they are promising to make you feel a certain way or claiming the app lets you cook jollof rice with the touch of your finger tip. I got an email about something called ALAT and, like most people who were sadly led to believe that we could open accounts on Facebook, I thought to myself: “Africa’s first digital bank indeed.”
I must say well done to the people at ALAT and Wema Bank for this. “I don get ALAT” and here are 3 reasons why you should.
It Took About 5 Minutes. Really.
Yes, this is true. All I did was type in my BVN on the app, take a selfie and also take pictures of my ID card and utility bill. I thought the utility bill was going to be a hitch initially but I remembered I had a utility bill in my outbox from the last time I tried to open an account at a branch of another bank. The lady at this bank called me two days later saying the account couldn’t be opened because the photocopy of the bill I brought wasn’t clear so I had to send her another scanned copy. Thank goodness those times are gone. I haven’t seen anything like it before. 5 minutes and I had a transaction ready bank account on ALAT.
Free Debit Card Delivered to My House
Even after the account was opened I was still skeptical until I stumbled on the request for a card feature. You would think that this would come at a cost since they were delivering customized debit cards to my house but it was actually free. The design options were so cool I had to send screenshots to my friends to help me pick the best card. They didn’t let me pick the name to be written on the card, though, but the card was delivered to my house in two days and I activated it on the app instantly.
It Helps Me Achieve Goals
I kept exploring and I tell you it does everything. Internet subscription, bills, scheduled transfers, TV subscription and even airtime purchase. It also has a feature called “Goals” that actually helps me achieve my goals! This app was really created in my best interest because this singular feature is the only reason I have multiple bank accounts to begin with. It lets you put in your goals, how much they cost and determine how much you intend to save towards achieving them either daily, weekly or monthly. When it breaks it down to the little figures, it makes you feel like you can achieve anything in this life. You can also predetermine if you want to touch this money before the goal is complete or if you want to lock up completely.
Needless to say, this app has become my personal favorite, only second to the gram, and it makes me feel all type of ways. Beautiful and easy to use. Yes, ALAT still needs a little work to be done as it still has some bugs but the good news is their tech team is very responsive and are consistently updating the app to make it better. I have only one question for the people at ALAT – when are we going to start cooking jollof with ALAT?
