Banking is even harder in pandemic

File photo
File photo

THE EDITOR: It is amazing that with the chaos of the Covid lockdowns and job losses, that changes to our Banking procedures have the effect of increasing the stresses and wait times for all customers. Covid is being blamed for everything.

Our banks and financial institutions have been at the forefront of technology in our country. We have credit cards with chips, cash pay systems and internet banking.

And yet during the time when customers need to spend less time indoors, our banks and financial institutions have cut their working hours, messed up the internet access, and reduced their indoor staff.

All these conditions are guaranteed to increase frustration and waste customers’ time. Some transactions that used to take one working day are now taking up to three or four working days.

To rub salt into the wounds, these same institutions have not offered to reduce fees and interest charges to customers.

Our Minister of Finance did promise these concessions, but it seems that he has no influence on the financial sector. They keep saying come in and ask us, as if it is a favour they are doing us – their customers.

It is a shame that these companies which are solely dependent on good customer relations have not seen any benefit in assisting these very same customers in their time of need.

Maybe they are relying on our Trini "ten-day" memory to kick in. Maybe they believe that we will not remember how they slapped away our outreached hands during the pandemic time of little bit, when our pockets get filled again in the future.

Sigh, maybe they are right.

ANNE DE SILVA

St Joseph

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"Banking is even harder in pandemic"

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