Bank of Valletta will be reopening another three of its branches on Monday, bringing the total number of open branches up to 31.
The BOV branches located in Luqa, Qormi and Skyparks will be open from Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 1.30pm and on Saturdays from 8.30am until 12.30pm. Cheque encashment and cash withdrawals are accepted until noon as per normal pre-COVID-19 schedule. On Saturdays, the Qormi branch will provide full services including cashiering services, whereas the Luqa and Skyparks branches will offer non-cashier services.
All current procedures with regard to cashiering services and safety measures, including limiting the number of customers inside the branch at any one time, will remain in force. The bank reminds its customers to avoid queuing and to use ATMs at any time of the day for their cash requirements. Customers are encouraged to opt for secure contactless payments such as BOV cards, BOV Pay, BOV mobile and internet banking.
“At Bank of Valletta, we understand the importance that our retail branches hold for our community,” said Horace Laudi, chief officer retail banking.
“We have the largest network of branches operating across the islands and while we are doing our utmost to reopen the remaining branches as soon as possible, as most other businesses we are still experiencing some staff resourcing issues brought about by the COVID-19 situation.
“A number of employees who were out due to measures introduced by the health authorities in the best interest of the community, have now returned back to the workplace, making it possible for us to reopen these three branches.
“However, we still have a number of working parents who for now have no other option but to work from home and take care of their young children. We hope that as more of our employees are able to return, we will be in a position to open more branches for the convenience of our customers.”
In the meantime, BOV has implemented a number of measures aimed at offering alternatives to servicing customers to minimise the incidence of queues. In fact, an appointment system for non-cashier services such as home loans, personal loans, investments, opening of accounts, applications for debit and credit cards, internet and mobile banking is already in place.
“The well-being of our customers and employees remains our top priority. Across our business we are providing significant support to all our customers and we are looking into our processes and implementing changes to reduce queues as much as possible so that our customers can have a safer and better branch experience,” concluded Laudi.
Customers can set up an appointment for non-cashiering branch services by sending an e-mail to info@bov.com with the type of service required, mobile number, ID card number and preferred branch or by calling on 2275 3500 Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm.
More details can be found on https://www.bov.com/content/covid-19-bov-updates.