POSB ushers in Lunar New Year with new look for POSB girl

Singapore, 03 Feb 2014 - POSB customers today got a preview of the bank’s new uniform when they visited POSB Ang Mo Kio Central branch for their first banking transactions after the Lunar New Year holiday. Customers were also greeted by the bank’s senior management, who visited the branch as part of an annual tradition to personally wish customers a prosperous Lunar New Year.

The new branch uniform is the tenth design in a series of friendly yellow and blue uniforms introduced in 1972, when POSB established its first independent bank branch in the heartlands. The new design, which cleverly weaves the familiar POSB key logo into an Asian motif, will be rolled out across all POSB branches in the first quarter.

To achieve consistency in the adoption of the refreshed look, POSB branch staff have all attended a comprehensive grooming course, where they learnt how to accentuate the warm and graceful Asian inspired uniform.

POSB has also invested in a customised service training programme to ensure that branch staff continue to deliver the friendly Asian service that is synonymous with the iconic POSB Girl. With active participation from branch staff, in all, more than 5,000 additional service training hours were delivered.

Sim S. Lim, Singapore Country Head, DBS Bank, said, “POSB has long been regarded as the People’s Bank. Our staff, who are the faces of the bank, play a key role in reaching out to customers. This is why we continually invest in staff development and instill service pride in our people, in order that we may deliver the personable and value added banking experience our customers have to come to appreciate.”

The POSB Girl made her debut in 1972 when the bank embarked on its service journey, which included grooming a pool of service staff who would come to represent the bank’s respectful, dependable and efficient service. Since then, staff who embody POSB’s promise of being neighbours first and bankers second have been featured in the bank’s marketing campaigns, and are recognised as service models for all staff.

In January, POSB also launched a Customer Advocacy programme, led by a group of service veterans, to help shape the banking journey from the customers’ perspective so as to create a better client experience.

As a result of its service initiatives, the number of compliments received by POSB branch staff has increased over the years. POSB measures its service standards across several benchmarks and has observed significant improvement in customers’ perception of the bank over the last three years, specifically in the areas of having the “most friendly staff” and “delivering on its promises”.

Derrick Goh, Head of POSB, said, “Our staff take great pride in serving generations of Singaporeans and the refreshed uniform celebrates our ongoing journey to put customers at the heart of the banking experience. As the nation’s oldest bank, it is important for POSB to continuously innovate and take the lead in delivering safe and smart banking services that are relevant to our customers’ evolving lifestyle.”

POSB has a long history of driving banking innovation in Singapore. For example, it was the first local bank to introduce the ATM and to offer HDB home loan financing in the 70s.

Today, the bank’s innovations continue to be driven by a commitment to increase convenience, strengthen relationships and add value to the customer’s banking experience. In 2013, POSB’s product and service innovations include:

• POSB HDB Loan – an alternative housing loan to the HDB concessionary loan
• POSB Invest Saver – a regular savings plan that allows customers to invest in Singapore’s blue-chip stocks
• Passion POSB Debit Card – the first all-in-one community card that brings together convenience and community lifestyle benefits
• POSB Cash-Point – a new cash withdrawal service allowing customers to withdraw cash at 7-Eleven stores islandwide
• The Great Singapore ATM Card Upgrade – the first nationwide campaign to encourage cardholders to switch to more secure chip cards.

To encourage customers to establish good savings habits in 2014, the bank recently launched two new deposit accounts, eMSA 2014 and MSA-Home, which reward customers with higher interest rates. For more information, please visit www.posb.com.sg.

 

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About POSB
A part of the DBS Group, POSB is the largest local bank in Singapore with 4 million customers. Having served generations of Singaporeans for the past 138 years, it is known as the "People's Bank", and prides itself on being "neighbours first, bankers second".

With a good understanding of Singaporeans through the years, POSB offers products and services that are relevant to the savings, borrowing, investment and insurance needs of all Singaporeans. With over 50 branches conveniently located islandwide, and over 1,000 ATMs and Cash Acceptance Machines across the island, POSB's distribution network is the largest in Singapore.

POSB acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in each of its staff. For more information, please visit www.posb.com.sg