Bank of Cyprus to suspend new fees and charges

Bank of Cyprus’ CEO Panicos Nicolaou announced Thursday that the bank would suspend the new fees and charges for its services that was planning to introduce next January.
 
In a written statement, issued after a meeting with the ruling party DISY delegation led by its president Averof Neophytou`s, Nicolaou said that the bank’s effort would be to educate their customers on digital servicse and keeping them informed on ways to avoid charges.
 
As he said the first reason for the new charges, was the bank’s effort to turn to digital services and encourage their customers to use their mobile phones.
 
He added that already, 75% of the transactions were done through digital channels, and that the largest store today was “our customer`s mobile phones."
 
He also pointed out that the new digital channel charges are either significantly cheaper than in-store, or completely free.

The Bank’s CEO also said that the Bank would like to create a disincentive for the use of checks and said  that the economy would benefit from limiting the use and abuse of that product.
  
He also expressed the Bank`s intention to offer intensive training programs aimed mainly at the elderly in order to strengthen the readiness of all  “for this inevitable shift. "
 
"These services may be easy, but some of our fellow citizens need guidance until they are fully ready to be served on their own," he added.
 
"That`s why we agreed that it is right to suspend the implementation of the new fees and charges. The suspension will not concern the clients of the International Business Units, " he went on to say.

Nicolaou also noted that the Banks of Cyprus feels the weight of its responsibility and its role in the country’s economy, as the largest bank in Cyprus
"We have no intention of relinquishing this responsibility " he said.

He added that their intention was to push the country to step up its digitization and that the digital transformation of the banking sector and the country in general was inevitable.