RBC to offer Saturday banking in Arima

RBC Royal Bank (RBC) will soon be providing Saturday banking, 9 am to 3 pm, at its Arima branch. The bank’s Managing Director Darryl White told Newsday this is being done to help offset an expected increase in customers in Arima following the closure last Friday of RBC’s Sangre Grande branch.

“Saturday banking is new to Arima. I believe this will be our ninth branch to do so. If not this Saturday, by next week, it will be open from 9 am to 3 pm every Saturday. That’s in addition to extended opening hours this week of 7 am to 4 pm.” White added that with more customers conducting automated teller machine (ATM) transactions, the bank installed a fourth ATM at its Arima branch over the weekend “in preparation for the (Sangre) Grande closure.”

The closure of that branch became necessary after RBC was unable to reach an agreement with its landlord about renewing the lease.

Asked if it was true that the bank wanted a one-year lease while its landlord wanted a five-year lease signed and that RBC called his bluff and was put out, White replied, “If that was the case, one would have to ask who’s calling whose bluff.”

“As happens in commercial dealings from time to time, people see things differently. So I don’t think it’s fair to say he put us out because when a lease is up, what do you expect to do? Also, if you would look at the branch, you would see it’s been properly vacated, no RBC signage left.”

White estimated there were 15,000-20,000 active accounts at the Sangre Grande branch. He said however that only a few people came up to him while he was at the Arima branch yesterday to say they intended to close their accounts.

“They said it’s more convenient for them to go in the bank and I respect that reality. I can’t blame someone if that is what’s more convenient to them.”

Regarding the staff who worked in Sangre Grande, White said there will be no job losses. All affected staff will be reassigned. “We’ll do our best to make sure they’re reassigned to appropriate locations. We have a number of staff now in Arima, St Augustine and Trincity, where we feel most of the traffic will end up now that the Sangre Grande store has closed.”

White noted that over the last two years, RBC has observed a nearly 40 percent reduction in over the counter transactions while there are now between 30,000-35,000 regular users of its mobile and online banking services. “Comparing that to branch activity, 35,000 people is almost the equivalent to two branches.”

While RBC believes digital banking is the future and, “there’s a fantastic convenience to it”, White said there are no plans to become fully digital. “We don’t want to be totally digital because technology can’t show empathy when a customer has a query and not everyone can embrace technology.”