Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), one of Africa’s foremost Financial Institutions, has advised its customers as work resumes after the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory to observe the protocols prescribed by the health regulatory authorities. This was contained in a statement released by the bank to the public.
According to the statement, the bank thanked its customers for their understanding and patience during the period of skeletal banking operations while the Covid 19 lockdown lasted.
“For us, the COVID-19 Pandemic is first and foremost a humanitarian challenge, so our primary focus is to safeguard lives. As we go into the phased easing of lockdown protocols, we need to work with you to make our return to work safe.
“One of the major places we have to work together to keep everyone safe is in our branches, some of which will reopen from May 4, 2020. We have put together some key areas of collaboration which, with your active participation, will enable us to greatly mitigate a potential spread of the Coronavirus.
In particular, the bank seeks customer cooperation in the area of personal protection, urging them to ensure adequate personal protection. It promises to provide hand sanitisers, carry out individual temperature checks, and ensure that there is adequate spacing between people.
“On your part, kindly ensure that you have your face mask on and also make use of the hand sanitisers at the entrance of all our branches”, the bank requested from its customers.
GTB also advised its customers to physically keep away from others, for now, saying it goes a long away in neutralising the ability of the Coronavirus to spread.
“Hence, we also have to work together in this area to ensure that we reduce physical contact to the barest minimum when you visit our branches. On our part, we are taking steps to ensure transactions at the banking halls are conducted at a safe distance from one another. On your part, we would strongly encourage you to cooperate with our Security Personnel at our branches in maintaining order at our branches”, it said.
In the area of cash handling, the bank said studies suggest that the Coronavirus can survive on surfaces and physical materials, such as paper for several hours. For this reason, it says it is very important that the bank and customers work together to prevent the spread of the virus through cash.
“On our part, we will pay extra diligence to cash handling and would only give out cash that has been adequately processed. On your part, please bear with us as cash deposits over a certain amount in the banking halls will take 48 hours, in order to allow our staff to take all necessary precautions in the processing of the cash. You can also take advantage of our cash deposit ATMs, which will continue to allow you to complete your deposits instantly”.
It also said it has worked on alternative branch opening as its plan B by segmenting its branches into sets whereby it could quickly switch to another set if it has to shut down a branch due to an outbreak.
“We will also be keeping you informed of which set of branches will be open on a weekly basis, so please look out for our communication via our corporate website, email and on social media”.
