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Open counter services at POSB, DBS banks one day a week for elders and customers-in-need

There are still POSB bank branches that remain closed and many elders suffer in silence when they cannot have access to the personalised services at bank counters that they are used to for a few months now.

A POSB bank outlet at Tanjong Pagar Plaza. Some of the bank's branches are still closed due to Covid-19 and public health considerations.

A POSB bank outlet at Tanjong Pagar Plaza. Some of the bank's branches are still closed due to Covid-19 and public health considerations.

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Paul Wee Kian Nghee

Due to the current pandemic, many POSB banks were closed during the strict Covid-19 containment measures in April and May and some branches have reopened when Singapore went into its first phase of allowing more business activities to resume.

For branches that have reopened, it has since assigned the first hour of operations for customers aged 60 years and above, pregnant mothers and customers with disabilities.

However, based on information on the bank’s website, there are still bank branches that remain closed, such as POSB outlets at Tanjong Pagar, Marine Parade, Tampines East, Woodlands West, Yishun West, Jurong West, Yew Tee, and more.

Will the bank consider opening these outlets at least once a week with priority access for those aged 60 and above?

Among the older population, there are elders who do not know how to use digital services and even automated teller machines (ATMs). Many of them suffer in silence when they cannot have access to the personalised services at bank counters that they are used to and they have not been able to do so for a few months now.

If shopping and dining are now allowed, I cannot understand why POSB, a community bank, continues to have some bank branches in the heartlands closed.

This is of no help to their older customers. 

It breaks my heart to see how an old woman with walking difficulties went all the way to the POSB branch at Tanjong Pagar Plaza on July 8, only to be disappointed and left helpless when the bank was closed and there was no counter service. She was not the only senior I have witnessed who encountered the same problem this week.

Although the nearest POSB outlet with over-the-counter services for customers living in Tanjong Pagar and the Chinatown area is in Tiong Bahru Plaza, it is arduously challenging for those who have mobility issues to travel that distance.

For other customers, they are equally inconvenienced because for banks that remain closed, the drop-off cheque deposit facility is similarly not available.

This is where I seek the management of POSB and DBS banks to reconsider reinstating all the basic services even if it is only for a day in a week, to help their customers-in-need, please.

Have views on an issue or a news topic you care about? Send your letter to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your full name, address and phone number.

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Covid-19 coronavirus POSB DBS bank seniors

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