THE BANK of Cyprus (BoC) yesterday announced the launching of its Direct Banking services for customers wishing to use the bank’s services via Internet, WAP or telephone.
Speaking at a news conference yesterday, BoC Director Christos Pandjaris said the move was part of the bank’s efforts to “stay abreast of technological advances, ensuring the highest quality service to customers.” He went on to say the Direct Banking system had been thoroughly checked and was fully operational.
BoC introduced telephone banking back in 1993 with the Super Bank programme, but the new phone services will be upgraded. Callers can now dial 0800 0800 toll-free, and will be served by either operators or a recorded menu. WAP users can now hit wap.bankofcyprus.com, and Internet surfers will visit the site www.bankofcyprus.com, the bank’s homepage on the web, which even features an “income tax calculator.”
After applying for an identity number and a password, customers will be able to check on their cellular phones or on the Internet their account status and conduct any number of transactions, such as transferring funds to other accounts or cancelling a cheque payment. Use of the Direct Banking services is free of charge.
Direct Banking head Demetris Loucaides explained some services would also be available to non-BoC customers, such as checking exchange rates and share prices on the stock market. He added that all services would be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that a technical support team would be on standby.
In light of the spread of cybercrime, Loucaides said that all personal data on the Internet would be encrypted, and that information submitted to the server would take place behind firewalls, ensuring full security and privacy in online banking.
Asked whether the growing application of technology would result in sizeable reductions in workforce, Pandjaris said he did not think that this was currently the case, adding that the bank’s operating profit was primarily based on “traditional banking services.”
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
