uba zambia

Name

uba zambia

Legal name

United Bank for Africa Zambia Ltd

Website

https://ubazambia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (52211)

SIC

National Commercial Banks (6021)

akta.pro primary industry

General SME & Middle-Market Commercial Banking (FSABABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Account & Balance Services (Operating accounts, statements, eBAM) (FSABAIAD), SME Deposits & Business Accounts (Operating, Savings, CDs) (FSABABAC), SME Business Lending (Term Loans, Lines of Credit, Overdrafts) (FSABABAB), SME Cash Management & Payments (Merchant, ACH/Wires, Payroll) (FSABABAD)

Keywords

• Retail banking services
• Corporate banking solutions
• SME lending finance
• Digital banking channels
• Trade finance services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lusaka

HQ country

Zambia

HQ region

Africa

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Interest Income: Interest earned on loan products including personal loans, overdrafts, term loans, and asset finance facilities. Interest rates on savings accounts range from 3% to 5%.
2. Transaction and Account Fees: Fees from account maintenance, transactions, ATM withdrawals, international transfers, and card-related services.
3. Corporate Account Fees: Monthly maintenance fees for corporate accounts (ZMW 350/month), domiciliary accounts ($10/month), and SME accounts.
4. Card Services: Income from debit card issuance, replacement, annual maintenance, and international transaction fees across Visa, Mastercard, and Verve card portfolios.
5. Trade Finance: Letters of credit, guarantees, and trade finance services generating establishment fees, advising fees, and commission income.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UBA Zambia is a commercial bank providing retail, SME, and corporate banking services through 9 physical branches and digital channels (mobile app, internet banking, USSD, and the LEO AI chatbot). Its core offerings include current and savings accounts, personal and corporate loans, overdrafts, asset finance, debit and prepaid cards (Visa, Mastercard, Verve), domestic and international money transfer services, trade finance (letters of credit, bonds and guarantees), POS acquiring, and payroll/HRIS solutions for businesses.

Product overview

UBA Zambia operates as a pan-African bank's subsidiary offering a comprehensive banking platform with multiple integrated channels and products. The core product portfolio spans digital banking (LEO Chat Banking, Mobile Banking App, Internet Banking U-Direct, USSD *822#), card products (Debit MasterCard in Standard/Gold/Platinum/World tiers, Visa Classic, Visa Dual Currency, Verve, Prepaid Cards, All About You Personalized Cards, Corporate Debit Cards), money transfer services (UBA AfriCash, UBA Connect, MoneyGram, Western Union, Ria), and lending products (Personal Loans up to ZMW850,000, Revolving Personal Overdraft at 50% salary, Asset Finance Car Loans, Asset Finance Household Assets, Term Loans, Import Trade Finance, Bonds and Guarantees). SME-specific offerings include the UBA x AfCFTA program ($6B commitment), SME Current/Domiciliary Accounts, and Working Capital/Asset Finance loans up to $150,000. Corporate banking covers ZMW Corporate Current Account and USD Domiciliary Corporate Account. Supporting services include POS Terminals, Schools Online EduPortal, HRIS U-Pay, and Notification Services. The bank holds PCI-DSS and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certifications, is regulated by the Bank of Zambia, and maintains nine branches across Zambia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LEO Chat Banking: AI-powered chatbot service available on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Google Business Chat that allows customers to perform banking transactions including funds transfers, data purchases, and account inquiries.
• U-Pay
• Schools Online / EduPortal

Products and services

• UBA Savings Account Personal savings account paying interest of 3% to 5% depending on account type, supporting digital and branch-based transactions. Targeted at individual retail customers seeking everyday banking and savings accumulation.
• Revolving Personal Overdraft Short-term revolving credit facility allowing customers to overdraw up to 50% of their salary, with interest from 2% of borrowed amount every 30 days and a renewable 180-day tenor. Designed for salaried individual customers needing short-term liquidity.
• Personal Loan

Quantifiable outcome

• Bank of the Year Award 2021 - Zambia by The Banker Magazine
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024$6 billion partnership agreement to support SMEs across Africa. UBA provides technical and financial solutions to help SMEs succeed in cross-border trade under AfCFTA. Focus industries include agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and transport/logistics. Working capital loans up to $150,000 and asset finance loans up to $150,000 available.
• MastercardcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2020Partnership for Shop & Win promotion and co-branded card products. Mastercard branded debit cards accepted at over 30 million merchant locations worldwide. Collaboration on digital payment innovation and card services.
• MoneyGramcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational money transfer service enabling customers to send and receive money from over 150,000 locations in 170+ countries. UBA serves as agent location for MoneyGram transfers.
• Western UnioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational money transfer service enabling global remittances. UBA offers Western Union services at branches for fast and reliable international money transfers.
• MastercardcoreTechnology or IntegrationCard network partnership for Debit MasterCard products. Cards accepted at over 1 million ATMs and 32 million merchant locations worldwide. Includes premium cards (Gold, Platinum, World) with exclusive benefits and airport lounge access.
• VisacoreTechnology or IntegrationCard network partnership for Visa branded debit and credit cards. Cards accepted at over 2.1 million Visa-enabled ATMs in 200+ countries and 29 million merchant locations worldwide.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Zanaco: Zambia's largest locally listed commercial bank offering retail, SME, corporate and agricultural banking; directly comparable to UBA Zambia in product set and target segments across the Zambian market.
• Stanbic Bank Zambia: Standard Bank group's Zambian subsidiary providing retail, SME, corporate and trade-finance banking; competes head-to-head with UBA Zambia for corporate and SME wallet share, especially in mining and agriculture.
• Absa Bank Zambia: Absa group's Zambian subsidiary offering personal, business and corporate banking with digital channels; comparable product mix (accounts, loans, cards, digital banking) and similar retail/SME focus.
• Standard Chartered Bank Zambia: International bank operating in Zambia with strong corporate, trade-finance and FX capabilities; overlaps with UBA Zambia's corporate and trade-finance offerings for multinational and large local corporates.
• Ecobank Zambia: Pan-African bank with presence in Zambia offering retail, SME and corporate banking; most directly comparable to UBA Zambia given shared pan-African ownership model, cross-border value proposition and target segments.
• First National Bank Zambia (FNB Zambia): FirstRand group's Zambian subsidiary offering personal, business and corporate banking with strong digital and app-led acquisition; directly comparable retail and SME proposition to UBA Zambia.
• Access Bank Zambia: Access Holdings' Zambian subsidiary (formerly Atlas Mara) offering retail, SME and corporate banking; comparable pan-African group structure and recent African expansion strategy to UBA Zambia.

Broad incumbents

• Citibank Zambia: Global incumbent bank's Zambian franchise focused on corporate, treasury and transaction banking; overlaps with UBA Zambia's corporate segment but does not compete meaningfully in retail/SME.

Regional players

• First Capital Bank Zambia: Zambian commercial bank (formerly part of Barclays Africa) offering retail and corporate banking; a domestic-only peer with comparable product set but without UBA's pan-African cross-border network.

Emerging players

• MTN Zambia (MoMo): Mobile money operator with deep agent network across Zambia; competes with UBA Zambia on retail payments, transfers and remittances, and is also integrated as an acceptance partner on UBA's POS terminals.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UBA__Zambia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@UBAZambia1
• Facebookfacebook.com/ubazambialimited
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uba-zambia
• Instagraminstagram.com/uba_zambia

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about uba zambia