Bank of Baroda introduces Remote Deposit Capture to Guyana

With the aim of improving its services, Bank of Baroda has introduced a new banking facility, Remote Deposit Capture, which will now see customers saving trips to the bank when conducting certain transactions.

This announcement was made by a director of the bank at an event held by the financial institution on Friday evening at the Georgetown Club.
Remote Deposit Capture is a technology-based method which allows banks to accept cheques for deposit using electronic images instead of the original physical paper versions. With this feature, customers can use their computers, tablets or smartphones to deposit their cheques instead of having to make trips to the bank in order to conduct transactions.
The Director indicated that this facility is only designed for the deposit of US cheques to customers’ local bank accounts.
“It has been our endeavour to bring to customers the best of the products. In that context, today we want to put in place a facility which we call Remote Deposit Capture…what happens is those people who are depositing a US cheque in their bank account here…normally what happens is that cheque physically travels to the USA and then we present it to the clearing system there. With this particular instrument, the transport of the physical cheque will not be there. The image will be scanned here and it will be ready for being lodged in the first clearing,” the Director stated.
According to the Director, in addition to enjoying a convenient way of depositing their US cheques, the bank’s customers utilising this facility will also benefit from a low transaction processing fee.
“The benefit to the customer [includes] faster payment being credited to the account, we have certain norms around five days to seven days we have to keep, and it will be at a reduced cost because the courier charge [or] transport cost will not be there”.
Governor of Bank of Guyana, Dr Gobind Ganga, speaking at the event lauded Bank of Baroda for serving Guyana’s market for over 50 years despite its challenges and for utilising its potential to improve its services and products to Guyanese.
“You wouldn’t expect any bank in Guyana at this time to have such a system available where a physical cheque can be internationally cleared within a very, very short period of time. For that, Bank of Baroda should be applauded,” Dr Ganga said.
He commended the institution for taking this big step in advancing Guyana’s financial services offered to the market.
“This is universal, this is global, and wholeheartedly they have indicated their support to us here in Guyana to have such a system be put in place…so while you are sitting there, you could be doing your banking business, and that is what we are looking forward to…because a few years back we started to modernise our system and part of our modernisation would also be in terms of utilising whatever service is available not only to make life easy to big customers and to the banks in terms of movement of money but also in terms of what the local, in terms of the retail, the small men, or the small women, all would be able to do with respect to the movement of money in terms of payment, intermediation…”
Bank of Baroda is an India-based, State-owned entity, with a network of 9583 branches spanning 23 countries.
Just a year ago, the financial institution had announced that it was going to be pulling out from Guyana’s shores. According to reports from the Financial Express, the banking institution was looking to divest its entire 100 per cent stake in its Bank of Baroda Guyana Inc subsidiary through investment bankers. However, the bank has since reversed that decision.