Bank of Guam offers new way of banking

Have you ever fantasized about making a banking transaction soon after doing your regular Saturday grocery or post-Sunday mass shopping?

It just seems not possible because banks are normally open on weekdays only. And while others entertain clients on a Saturday, you will still have to burn gas in order to drive between their location and the supermarket.

Bank of Guam will today defy the conventional way of doing business when it transfers to its new branch inside Price Costco in San Jose.

Bank of Guam decided to uproot its first and oldest branch in the Northern Marianas from Susupe to San Jose’s Price Costco to pave the way for a new concept in convenient and comfortable banking.

Beginning today, Bank of Guam will open its doors to clients seven days a week to reach out to its customers, especially those who are not able to transact business on weekdays because of work.

According to Bank of Guam vice president and branch manager Marcie M. Tomokane, the company’s Price Costco branch will be open from Monday to Sunday on extended, full operation hours.

The Price Costco branch will be open for full-banking transactions from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays; from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays; and from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every Sunday.

“It is an extended and longer hour of full banking operation, a new concept in convenient banking, which we are now introducing to our Saipan clients. It’s the first in the CNMI,” Ms. Tomokane said.

She explained that Bank of Guam is foregoing the sentimental value of its first and oldest branch in Susupe in the name of providing the best customer service through comfort and convenience.

“The transfer is something that we’re doing to introduce in-store banking, a new industry concept aimed at better serving our customers. It’s our way of serving our clients better through a bigger space with the comfort of a shopping ambiance,” she pointed out.

Ms. Tomokane stressed the transfer is a product of discussions with hopes to enter in a mutual partnership with major on-island and off-island retailers.

The Price Costco Bank of Guam branch is more of a one-stop shop for both the financial institution’s regular and retailer clients. It is actually reaching out to both client groups without sacrificing convenience or comfort for either party.

“People can just go there, transact banking business and then shop,” Ms. Tomokane said, adding that the space in the old Susupe branch is already inadequate to support Bank of Guam’s growing clientele..

She said there will be two-shifts of three tellers and an officer at the Price Costco- in-store branch, although the number of staff will depend on the volume of transactions.

During off-peak days, Bank of Guam is planning to place two tellers and an officer.

“Bank of Guam has been growing big since 1980, rendering the old Susupe facility inadequate. In Price Costco, we will have ample parking space for our clients, coupled with longer hours of operation,” she said.

Aside from the seven-day full banking operations offered by the new branch in Price Costco, Bank of Guam is also reaching out to its clients through on-site and off-site Automated Teller Machines.

At present, Bank of Guam has an off-site cash dispenser in McDonald’s and six ATMs that provide full-banking services that include deposit, withdrawal, credit card payment and fund transfer.

The bank, according to Ms. Tomokane, also offers commercial and residential loans, ready reserve credit, consumer loan credit, merchant credit card, Mastercard.

At the same time, Bank of Guam has a wide variety of deposit programs such as savings, checking, time deposit and the Individual Retirement Account.