Mandating More Manpower at Bank Branches to Enhance Accessibility for Seniors and Reduce Queue Time
Ministry of FinanceSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Christopher de Souza’s inquiry on mandating higher manpower at bank branches to assist seniors and reduce wait times. Minister Gan Kim Yong, answering for the Prime Minister, explained that banks support non-technologically savvy customers via digital ambassadors, digital literacy programmes, and priority queues. He noted that banks manage surges with increased staffing and mobile ticketing, while traditional branch and phone banking services remain available. The Monetary Authority of Singapore supervises banks to ensure they provide adequate management attention to customer service and staffing levels. This includes checking that banks increase manpower where necessary to maintain accessibility and effectively manage queue times for their customers.
Transcript
2 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether banks can be mandated to maintain more manpower at bank branches amid a broader shift towards digital banking so as to reduce queue time at bank branches and to reduce the impact on seniors who are not technologically savvy.
Mr Gan Kim Yong (for the Prime Minister): Banks have taken steps to ensure that customers, who are less technologically savvy, continue to be well-supported amid a broader shift towards digital banking. Examples include, deploying digital ambassadors at their branches to guide customers to perform transactions via digital channels and working with community partners to organise digital literacy programmes to help elderly customers acquire digital skills and bolster digital inclusion. Branch and phone banking also remain available to customers who prefer to bank via non-digital channels.
Banks monitor and manage queue time at bank branches. Examples of measures implemented by banks include, mobile queue ticketing services that allow customers to be informed of the queue situation before visiting the branch and to apply for a queue ticket digitally and designated queues or priority assistance for elderly customers. They have also increased their manpower to manage surges at branches during peak periods.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore will, through our supervisory engagements with banks, check that they have given adequate management attention to managing customer service and queues at bank branches, including increasing manpower where necessary.