The Bank of Guyana (BoG) is considering levying penalties on Republic Bank Limited (RBL) over the large number of complaints received by customers during the bank’s platform changeover last month, Governor of the Bank of Guyana Dr. Gobind Ganga yesterday said as he warned other banks to take note.
“The Bank of Guyana is considering penalties,” Ganga told reporters, while saying the penalties “are for the services you are to be providing and you are not providing or any infraction that is not the fault of the customer.”
Ganga said that he will tomorrow be meeting the Guyana Association of Bankers (GAB) and will make the position of the Central Bank – that it will not tolerate shoddy services being meted out customers and that they all need to “get their acts together” – known.
“I have a meeting with GAB on Friday and this is what is going to be told to them… it [penalty] is going to be substantial… This will be across the banking system,” he said.
Ganga said that he wants to make clear that Central Bank is not threatening the local banks but wants to work with them to ensure that customers do not have to endure hours of waiting for services and sloth in other areas. “We haven’t threatened them. We don’t want to threaten anybody. We want to bring things out in the open with all of them. ‘This is what is expected of you. If you are not doing what you are required to do, then this is going to be your penalty,’” he said.
While he explained that legally the BoG cannot force a penalty on banks for sloth and disruption in service, he will seek to use “moral persuasion” to have Republic Bank in some way compensate its customers for the inconvenience faced.
But come next year, he said Central Bank will be looking at legislation to reinforce its actions. “Next year we will come in with a whole lot of those amendments to the Financial Institutions Act or to provide such power to the bank,” he said.
“Every time these situations come you not only have to change not just that piece but you have to change the whole section. We will have what you call a consumer protection bill and consumer literacy,” Minister of Finance Winston Jordan added.
‘Reaffirming commitment’
Meanwhile, on the heels of the warning yesterday, Republic Bank yesterday said that it was working fervently to bring services to normalcy and that it remains confident that it will be resolved by next Monday, in time to meet the demands of payments of the end-of-year wages and salaries.
“Republic Bank is reaffirming its commitment to fully resolve all new banking system related issues by mid-December as earlier indicated. With ongoing emphasis to improve transaction efficiency, customers can access their accounts via the Bank’s Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), where a higher single transaction limit of $100,000 is now available,” it said in a statement.
“Eighty-two percent (82%) of our Point of Sale Terminals are now operable, facilitating customers’ payments at merchants, while we continue to address those outstanding for earliest availability. In-branch, resources have been redirected to ensure maximum support; while our new Swipe Card feature will greatly reduce the need for completion of vouchers for some withdrawals and deposits. Payrolls received to date have been processed and we are utilising currently four (4) payroll processing options to ensure that our valued customers have on time access to their salaries and bonus payments. Wire Transfers are also being processed. Our customer education efforts and Call Centre support are ongoing, even as we note the steady reduction in the demand for these,” it added.
‘Compensate’
The Bank’s Chairman Nigel Baptise, according to the statement, on Monday announced that the Bank is working on measures to compensate customers for the inconvenience experienced as result of the conversion to the new banking platform. However, it did not state what form that compensation would take.
“Customer focus remains our priority and we are committed to ensuring that any inconvenience experienced by our customers and stakeholders is resolved soonest,” the statement added.
