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DFCC Bank Senior Vice President – Retail Banking & SME Aasiri Iddamalgoda
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By Nishel Fernando
DFCC Bank, the premier commercial Bank in Sri Lanka, has been playing a prominent role in transforming the lives of its customers by actively promoting and incentivising the habit of saving, in order for them to become financially independent while achieving their dreams and goals, for over six decades ever since its inception in 1955.
Led by banks, World Thrift Day is celebrated annually on 31 October worldwide with an objective to promote the importance of savings and financial security of individuals as well as the nation as a whole. Banks have been the pioneer in promoting and facilitating the habit of savings among the general public, to help them achieve a higher standard of life while supporting the national economy at large.
In recent times, the importance of savings has resurfaced with a greater sense of urgency due to unforeseen financial challenges brought up by external events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters, on individuals, firms and national economies.
In celebrating World Thrift Day, DFCC Bank Senior Vice President – Retail Banking & SME Aasiri Iddamalgoda recently sat down with Daily FT to share the bank’s view on the importance of promoting saving as a habit and the recent efforts taken by the bank amidst the pandemic to get more customers engaged in savings, while touching upon some of the key innovative savings products offered by the bank.
The following are the excerpts of the discussion:
Q:What’s the significance of saving for an individual, as well as for the nation in DFCC Bank’s point of view?
Saving is an essential habit that everyone must cultivate, it’s not an option. The unpredictability of future events, which is increasingly becoming more frequent, motivates people to act more financially responsibly, thus acting as the fuel for the drive towards being ‘thrifty’. As many experienced in first-hand, savings act as a safety net, in the case of any unforeseen emergency which may be due to a natural disaster, pandemic or any other unexpected event.
Each rupee saved today is an investment for the future. DFCC Bank recognises the importance of saving and has thus taken steps to reward all its customers for engaging in this essential habit. The art of saving is necessary to lead a long and happy life. Therefore, it is crucial that this habit is inculcated in children at an early age.
As a responsible banker, we are celebrating this World Thrift Day with our customers in emphasising the importance of savings.
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Q: As one of the oldest and most reputed commercial banks in the country, how does DFCC Bank supports its customer base to cultivate and develop their saving habits?
Supported by over 65 years of expertise in banking, DFCC Bank has been successfully able to meet the evolving requirements of customers by leveraging its longstanding experience in the banking sector, while utilising the latest available technology in our products and services. Aligned with this, we offer tailor-made savings solutions for anyone starting from infancy, ranging throughout maturity until achieving seniority coupled with attractive interest rates and other benefits.
In particular, our superior customer service, the convenience of access, complemented faultlessly with new digital platforms, have differentiated DFCC with our peers. In May this year, we introduced our Non-Face-to-Face (NF2F) digital account opening process which includes video verification using the ‘DFCC Video Chatz’ video banking service hosted on the bank’s cutting edge trilingual website. This facilitates customers to open accounts digitally online without having to step into the bank branch anytime from any place.
Q: What are some of the key savings products offered by DFCC Bank for its customers?
Partnering with DFCC Bank is a lifetime commitment. Once the decision is made to join the DFCC family, it is assured that DFCC Bank shall remain by your side throughout the many stages in your life.
For our senior citizens, DFCC ‘Garusaru’ offers an attractive interest rate with a range of other benefits such as gift vouchers and discount vouchers from various establishments including healthcare. DFCC ‘Winner Account’ is well known for its superior interest rates while the DFCC ‘Xtreme Money Market Account’ is designed in a manner for interest rates to grow in tandem with the savings deposits for businesses and individuals. Meanwhile, it offers higher interest rate for the Sri Lanka Rupee and foreign currency savings based on the account balance of our customers.
DFCC Junior, DFCC Junior Plus and DFCC Teen are the main children’s savings accounts of DFCC Bank. DFCC Junior Savings Account is designed to cultivate and grow saving habits in our children. It comes with a range of special gifts and benefits. Any child with their parent/guardian can open up a children’s savings account with a minimum Initial deposit. Further, we have introduced the DFCC Teen account exclusively for the youth in the age group of 13 to 18 years, allowing their parents and guardians to treat them with respect and look at them as adults, yet maintain some supervised control.
Q: Cultivating the habit of saving at an early age remains critical for them to become financially responsible in the future. How does DFCC Bank promote saving habits among our children?
Children’s first savings account is one of the best tools to teach the importance of savings to them. We believe it’s a must to introduce and familiarise children with the concept of saving when they are at an early age. Childhood is a stage where the person is most impressionable and inculcating good habits remain in their conscience as they grow older. Therefore, DFCC Bank has taken the lead with several initiations in assisting parents to inculcate a saving habit within their kids at an early age. The bank also conducted many online art workshops during the lockdown period.
In line with this, we have implemented several offline and online initiatives to increase financial literacy among children in partnership with many schools and educational institutes. Further, DFCC Bank conducted a series of workshops and seminars for children who sat for the Grade 5 scholarship exam.
Further, the bank offers a special benefit through the DFCC Junior Account for children who perform well in the Grade 5 scholarship exam, where children who score over 150 marks stand to receive a cash reward of Rs. 150 for every mark above 150. If a child gets 180 marks, Rs. 4,500 will be rewarded, which will be credited to the DFCC Junior Account of the child.
Q: How has DFCC Bank adapted to operating in this pandemic environment, extending its services to the customer base?
In prioritising safety and security, DFCC Bank swiftly aligned internal processes accordingly to continue to banking services for all our customers without disruptions in the wake of the pandemic. Even though an islandwide network of branches is conveniently established, DFCC Bank has taken steps to improve all its digital channels so that the customers can bank from the safety of their homes without being exposed to the risk of infection.
We firmly believe that digitalisation is not just a word to be light-heartedly thrown around. We have assured that the customer experience through all of the bank’s digital channels, be it online banking, online account opening or our Virtual Wallet or use of Credit and Debit cards, is seamless and user friendly from beginning to end, ensuring security and accuracy right throughout.
Q: What is DFCC Bank’s message on World Thrift Day?
This is the perfect and most opportunistic time for anyone who have not yet started to save to embrace the practice and develop it into a regular habit in their lifestyles. It has become evident that catastrophe can hit at such short notice or with no notice. Therefore, we highly advocate the urgency to save and turn ‘thrifty,’ even when the future prospect seems bright and prosperous.
By pursuing habits of saving, more and more options will open up for you and eventually lead to financial freedom.
DFCC Bank offers the highest market interest rates for our customers. With our customer-centric approach, we will continue to introduce new deposit propositions targeting different customer requirements, aligned with their evolving requirements while integrating the latest available technologies with these propositions and make them attractive and unique in the market.
“Led by banks, World Thrift Day is celebrated annually on 31 October worldwide with an objective to promote the importance of savings and financial security of individuals as well as the nation as a whole. Banks have been the pioneer in promoting and facilitating the habit of savings among the general public, to help them achieve a higher standard of life while supporting the national economy at large.”
“The unpredictability of future events, which is increasingly becoming more frequent, motivates people to act more financially responsibly, thus acting as the fuel for the drive towards being ‘thrifty’. As many experienced in first-hand, savings act as a safety net, in the case of any unforeseen emergency which may be due to a natural disaster, pandemic or any other unexpected event.”