“Can a legacy Nigerian commercial bank (Wema) use its digital brand to be both a consumer neobank and a BaaS provider to Nigerian fintechs and e-commerce platforms?”
ALAT is the digital banking arm of Wema Bank PLC, a long-established Nigerian commercial bank. Launched in 2017 to capture younger, mobile-first Nigerian consumers, it has expanded from a basic savings/cards app to an embedded-finance ecosystem — opening up wallet APIs to third-party platforms, offering SME loans and BNPL, and embedding insurance via Curacel. The strategic question is whether a legacy bank's digital channel can serve both retail customers AND become a BaaS rail for Nigerian fintechs.
ALAT discloses Wema Bank PLC (in-house) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
ALAT does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Wema Bank PLC (in-house).
ALAT processes payments through ALAT Wallet APIs (self-operated) and NIP interbank transfers (self-operated via Wema Bank).
ALAT's cards are issued through Wema Bank PLC (in-house).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 5 layers in ALAT's stack: Payments / PSP (ALAT Wallet APIs (self-operated) and NIP interbank transfers (self-operated via Wema Bank)); Banking / BaaS (Wema Bank PLC (in-house)); Card issuing (Wema Bank PLC (in-house)); Lending (ALAT SME Loans, ALAT Instant Loans and ALAT Buy Now Pay Later); Sponsor bank (Wema Bank PLC (in-house)).
ALAT is founded in 2017 and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.
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