Ukrainian A-Bank: features and advantages
History of A-Bank
A-Bank was founded in 1992 in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Initially, the bank was called the Ukrainian Credit Bank (UCB). After the death of the CEO in 2004, the bank's financial performance began to deteriorate, and three years later, PrivatBank bailed out Ukrainian Credit Bank, buying a controlling stake.
In 2007, the management changed its name to Accent Bank (A-Bank) and the head office was moved to Dnipro. In November 2013, PrivatBank announced the sale of its shareholding, and in 2015, the entrepreneur brothers Surkis bought out 96.6 per cent of Accent-Bank's shares from the owner. Finally, in 2023, the name was changed to the current name — Abank.
Financial indicators and rating of Abank
According to the data as of 1 January 2023, the amount of assets of Abank is UAH 22.1 billion, thanks to which the company is among the twenty most prominent banks in Ukraine. Abank also ranks 19th among all Ukrainian banks in the stability rating - it is assigned 3.28 points out of 5.
This is a relatively small performance considering the significant gap from the banks that are in the top ten. At the same time, A-Bank is one of the leaders in capital growth, which for 2022 was 38%.
In addition, Abank received the prestigious FinAwards in 2022 and 2023 in the category "People's Bank". In 2022, within the awards framework, Abank also became the best bank in terms of remote service and quality of payment cards.
Ukraine's Credit Rating Agency assigned the bank a relatively high uaAA rating, but Abank has a negative outlook.
What services does A-Bank provide
A-Bank's clients have access to a wide range of services for private and corporate clients of Ukraine, as well as non-residents:
- Money transfers, including those abroad;
- Insurance;
- Deposits, loans and leasing;
- Credit, promotional and pension cards;
- Deposits against collateral and instalments;
- Payment for goods and services from a smartphone;
- Safe Deposit Box Rental
- Acquiring for corporate clients.
How to open an account for non-residents
Foreign citizens, including those abroad, can open an account in hryvnias with ABank in a couple of steps directly in the bank's app:
- You need to install the ABank24 app from the App Store or Google Play;
- Next, register an account using your phone number. Then, you need to follow the prompts on the screen. The process usually takes no more than 15 minutes. For successful registration, the user must send a photo or scan of documents: passport, ID card or passport. It is also possible to transfer documents via the Diya service.
Advantages and disadvantages of Abank
One of the main features of the bank is the possibility of remote account opening and servicing, including repayment of loans and credit cards abroad. Abank is a member of the Deposit Guarantee Fund.
The list of additional services is impressive: corporate clients can get an instant loan of up to UAH 2 million, and individuals can use the Share Credit Card service, which allows them to open access to their credit card to any Abank client from their contact list.
In addition, the bank offers credit cards with a significant grace period and debit cards with a hefty cashback of up to 20%. You can also highlight the "Fast Cash" service, allowing you to get a consumer loan in just 5 minutes.
To open an account and issue a card in A-Bank, the client must be at least 14 years old. However, credit products to such customers will be available only after reaching the age of majority.
Disadvantages of A-Bank:
- Commissions for payment of housing and utilities services;
- Paid credit card service;
- Comparatively low stability rating, although Abank is growing rapidly regarding financial indicators.
