Dear Editor,
I wish to give credit to the fact that Scotia is one of the largest banks in the world and is known for its excellent service, mostly in foreign countries.
As a customer, albeit, at a small level, I wish to raise certain concerns:
1. Why does Scotiabank only use easily torn plastic bags for night deposits? A pen or a finger nail can damage a night deposit bag used to hold cash, which has to be transported and sent down a chute into the bank’s lodgment area. In the process the bag can be torn. It is known that in the past they used heavy canvas bags for the purpose, which were numbered.
2. What procedures do they have in place if money is sent in this bag? For example, do they have a camera system that photographs each bag deposited, or a video which is installed nearby to ensure that bags can be counted as they are dropped in the chute?
3. Do they have any counting device installed whether operated by infrared light or a mechanical counter to account for the number of bags deposited in the chute per day or per hour? If not, why have they not thought of installing such a device? People have a right to ask as it is their money.
4. What is done to the plastic bag after the cash is retrieved from it? Are bags sent to customers to verify their deposit and to keep for a few months or years for collation or evidence?
5. How long does it take to dispatch reports to the customer as regards deposits. In my opinion this should be done the very next day, and emails could be sent initially and hard copies dispatched later. Any delay could compromise the integrity of the system and the bank.
6. The bank should invite its customers and customers’ security service providers to witness the process of what happens to cash after lodgment in what is referred to as ‘Night Deposit.’
On numerous occasions I have tried to call management of Scotiabank on the phone without success. They have an automated answering system, without the joy of the human voice. The system gives three options, but every time I call the voicemail asking for a message, no one is ever available. Holding on hoping for a receptionist or operator, never happens, unlike the option provided by some companies both locally and overseas. I have been trying to get their legal manager, or properties manager, or administrative manager on a particular important issue.
Yours faithfully,
Roshan Khan
RK’s Guyana Security Services
Editor’s note
We sent a copy of this letter to Scotiabank for any comment they might wish to make and received the following response from Ms Jennifer Cipriani, Manager, Marketing:
“We have noted Mr Khan’s concerns about the security of our night deposit service and wish to assure him that Scotiabank has measures in place to ensure the integrity of the service. We acknowledge his specific questions with regard to our process, however to ensure that our process remains secure, we do not comment on specific security measures taken by the Bank. What we can say is that we continuously review our processes to ensure the safety of our customers and the security of their deposits.
“Regarding Mr Khan’s comment about not being able to contact the Bank via telephone, we acknowledge that we have had technical challenges with our telephone service at some of our branches. We have since replaced our telephone system in a bid to improve on this aspect of our service delivery.
“We have now installed a voice message system to ensure that customers can leave a message with us and we can call them back. Customers can also reach Scotiabank via its website using email at bns.guyana@scotiabank.com.
“Our Senior Manager, Operations and Administration will contact Mr Khan in due course.”
