Supporting the local community for a brighter future
BNF Bank continues to give its support to the local community through a number of financial and community initiatives aimed for customers to cope better during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the weeks and months ahead, personal customers might continue facing challenges to meet their financial obligations. BNF customers experiencing financial hardship due to this crisis can apply for moratoria currently in place on BNF Home Loans, Personal Loans and Buy to let Loans and will not be charged processing fees when doing so. We're also extending our offer to refund all charges related to cash withdrawal from any other local Bank ATMs until the end of June.
We have continued to keep customer service as top priority, with eight out of our twelve branches offering full service, despite the pandemic, and we look forward to re-open our temporarily closed branches in the near future. BNF will also be installing two deposit machines for the convenience of our customers at our San Gwann and Qormi branches. In addition, we're pleased to inform you that as from June, all BNF Debit Cards due for renewal will be Contactless enabled, while all newly issued Credit Cards will go contactless in the coming weeks.
Although the business landscape has been redefined due to the crisis, BNF confirms its commitment to continue supporting the business community as it rises to the occasion. In collaboration with the Malta Development Bank (MDB), through the provision of a Bank Guarantee issued by the Ministry of Finance, BNF Bank is now offering working capital assistance to support SMEs and Large Corporates who are facing challenges to run their day-to-day operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Business customers can also opt to apply for a moratorium on their business loan in order to alleviate imminent cash flow and liquidity concerns.
As we understand our customers' individual needs and expediate their requests, we're also actively supporting community projects created by the Foodbank Lifeline Foundation, Hospice, Richmond Foundation, and Inspire amongst other non-profit organisations. Enthusiastically backed up by BNF employees, the aim of collaborating in philanthropic initiatives, is to continue making a positive influence on the social progress of society. BNF Bank is also supporting 'Malta Together; www.maltatogether.com', a creative non-profit initiative aimed to help the nation stay positive during this crisis.
Our priority from the start of the pandemic was to empower employees to stay safe and healthy during COVID-19 pandemic, and we have made all the necessary arrangements to move most of our workforce to a remote work environment in order to support the effort in reducing the outbreak and ensure no interruption to service. Branch and Customer Care employees are maintaining regular contact with customers through the same branches, online support portals as well as through our Customer Care Centre.
The relationships that we have built with our customers and partners over the past years are of paramount importance to us and our pledge is to stand strong with them as we look ahead to a brighter future.
