ANZ Bank says its decision to withhold bank cheques for over three days is to prevent fraud and protect customers.
Manager Brian Robb made the clarification following complaints over the past days and weeks by ANZ clients.
Customers complained the policy has caused inconvenience and affected their businesses and clients.
"This is really frustrating," a businessman client of ANZ told the Solomon Star.
In the rural areas, people traveling far to cash their cheques at the provincial headquarters have to wait for three or more days before their cheques are cleared for payments.
Mr Robb said this is not a new policy and the process is similar to other countries’ financial institutions and applies to all cheques.
"The policy is in place for the protection of customers and is to prevent fraudulent cheque transactions and or possible dishonours from lack of funds to an account," he said. .
Mr Robb said they are happy to discuss this in detail with any customer who has an alternative and are able to obtain express clearance by speaking with a staff member as they lodge the deposit.
Mr Robb also clarified that they have removed cash handling fees effective December last year.
The cash handling fee was originally introduced for transactions greater than $15,000, to cover some of the high costs associated with transporting cash throughout the Solomon Islands.
This means if you withdraw $15, 000 the bank gets $150 from you.
However Mr Robb said this is not the case any more.
ANZ operates six branches and 18 ATMs in the Solomon Islands, covering seven of the nine provinces here and we are the only bank with ATMs serving rural communities in the Solomon Islands.
In October last year, ANZ upgraded internet banking in Solomon Islands to provide more convenient and secure internet banking for customers, allowing them to move money between accounts more easily and set up regular bill payments.
Internet banking provides customers with a convenient alternative to traditional over-the-counter transactions.
ANZ has operated in the Solomon Islands for more than 44 years and claims to be the leading bank here with over 130 local staff.
By MOFFAT MAMU
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
