KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Scotia Group has extended its operating hours and reopened all but one of its branches that had been temporarily closed due to restrictions imposed by the Government as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The financial institution, in a statement today, said its Oxford Road branch in St Andrew will remain closed for renovation.

Meanwhile, all other branches will open at 8:30 am and close at 2:30 pm daily

This commenced today.

Senior citizens and customers with physical disabilities will be given priority access from 8:30 am to 9:30 am.

Scotia said the adjustment is in line with the Government of Jamaica’s changes to the national curfew.

Explaining the changes, Audrey Tugwell Henry, Executive Vice President of Retail Banking said: “Our senior customers are particularly vulnerable at this time. While we urge them to say home, in line with the Government of Jamaica’s guidelines, we want to ensure that if they need to come to the bank, we can serve them quickly and minimise any potential exposure to the Coronavirus.”

Commenting on the extended operating times, she further noted that: “We would like to thank our customers for their patience over the past few weeks. We are pleased to be able to offer longer banking hours to facilitate them while still maintaining all health and safety guidelines.”

The bank said it continues to take steps to safeguard the health of employees and customers including the installation of partitions in transaction areas at all branches.

It said appropriate physical distancing will continue to be enforced for both staff and customers which means that the Bank will have a reduced complement of employees to serve customers at any one time. As a result, the types of transactions offered in branches will generally be limited to those which cannot be conducted using other channels.

Small business, corporate and commercial customers are also encouraged to use electronic options for payments wherever possible which is a safer, faster and more cost effective option for both the business and the payee.

Personal banking customers are reminded that many banking transactions can be conducted using our online and mobile banking channels. Persons interested in signing up for online banking can visit jm.scotiabank.com to register.

Additionally, customers can access banking service at Scotia’s 272 ABMs islandwide, or via TeleScotia by dialing (876)960-2675.