Bank South Pacific (BSP)

Bank South Pacific’s digital general manager, Nuni Kulu, said this is an impressive start for BSP digital payments journey with an adoption rate over a four-year period for the PNG market, which has typically taken developed countries such as Australia, Singapore and New Zealand over eight years to achieve.

BSP Group general manager – retail, Daniel Faunt, said as a more convenient alternative to attending to BSP’s branches to pay children’s school fees, BSP continues to focus on providing digital payment solutions for its customers, which includes the provision of EFTPoS terminals to schools as well as through its mobile phone USSD service. 

Faunt said this in response to an article in one of the dailies, dated Friday 5th February, 2021, quoting a parent calling on banks to provide EFTPoS machines to schools for ease of payments.

In the presence of BSP Group CEO Robin Fleming, retail bank management and colleagues, the retirees were treated to a hero’s farewell ceremony on Tuesday 29th December, 2020, in Port Moresby. 

The group comprised of janitors, customer service officers and managers with years of service with the bank ranging between 30 and 40 years.

Amongst them was Madang branch customer service officer, Steven Wapikwari, who reflected on his term of service as “loyalty to one’s employer”.

John, a new father, came forward to seek help in late 2019. He grew up watching violence being perpetrated and the effects of which has impacted his behaviour towards his young family. He said the constant reminders on Bel isi PNG services and awareness on family sexual violence made him realise that he needed help.

“The feeling of responsibility as a man and questioning myself on whether I was doing enough to break the cycle bothered me. I had to accept that my behaviour was not something I wanted my son to learn,” John shared.

Present at the event was OOH program’s first patient to undergo operation heart surgery on Sunday 16^th February, 2020, was Faustina Jerome (18) accompanied by her father - Linus Jerome and elder sister- Fatima Jerome.

Faustina is from a remote area of Dasima in the Esa’ala district of Milne Bay Province. She completed her grade 8 in 2017 but was taken out of school due to her heart condition.

In 2018, BSP installed solar panels and lights for Sabusa Primary School classrooms and it went again last year with another added project for the school.

“Back then while installing the solars, we realised that classrooms had bare earth floors so in 2019, we went back to have five of the classroom floors cemented and we also had the rotten timbers at the school’s staff room stairs replaced,” said BSP’s Head of Training – HR, Ray Baloiloi.

Baloiloi and his team handed over the newly cemented classrooms just in time for the start of the 2020 academic year.

Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Frank van der Poll, said SWIFT GPI is the new standard in global payments and is based on existing messaging standards and bank payment processing systems, making it quick and cost-effective to adapt to the new norm.

“For BSP, adapting to this new standard of global payments allows the bank to send and receive funds quickly and securely to anyone, anywhere in the world, with full transparency over where a payment is at any given moment,” said van der Poll.

ABV commenced the YES program for selected BSP SME Customers on November 13^th in Port Moresby, aimed at providing business skills by way of facilitating mentoring sessions and workshops for participants.

BSP Deputy General Manager Customer Experience & Support, Peter Boutcher, when opening the workshop, said: “BSP has always supported economic growth through the support of SMEs in PNG. This training is a strong and practical investment that will support our small business customers in the region.

The prestigious award recognises BSP for excellence in payment system risk management and supporting Visa’s efforts to maintain trust and security in the payments industry in the Asia Pacific region.

In announcing this, Group General Manager Retail Paul Thornton said: “Financial Literacy and Banking Education is an important part of BSP’s contribution to the communities we operate in and it is important to note that out of the 129,474 people our trainers reached, 48 percent of them are female.”

Since inception in October 2014, the program aims to educate the community on how to manage money and helps them to use the appropriate banking products and services.