Barclays brings community banking to Channel Islands

Friday 08 April 2016

Community banking has arrived in Jersey and Guernsey.

Barclays has introduced the new initiative in its branches, bringing in the role of community banker to create a team of multi-skilled employees working in each branch.

Community bankers will spend more time ‘on the floor’ interacting with customers and helping them access the range of services available to them.

As part of the launch Barclays has also appointed a new branch manager and assistant branch manager to ensure customers receive the best service possible and continually upskill the community bankers.

Carol Bisson, head of local markets for Barclays in Jersey said: “The launch of community banking reflects the way banking is changing with customers increasingly choosing to conduct basic transactions through a digital platform and instead using branches for more in-depth conversations with staff.

“Our customers in the UK have told us they love the new structure and our Community Bankers locally are excited with the new role.

“We will always offer customers the opportunity to take advantage of any new technology that can provide an easier way to carry out their transactions. Community banking will ensure customers are always offered a choice and staff are on hand to help or support any customers if they need it.”

The launch of community banking is supported by a range of other Barclays’ initiatives such as trained teams of employees, called Digital Eagles, who focus on helping people get the most from the digital world. Barclays has also launched new accessibility apps that make banking easier for everyone, such as Barclays Pingit, an app that links your mobile with your bank account and makes it easy to pay money straight into another account and Barclays Mobile banking which enables you to manage your banking by phone.

Paul Savery, managing director at Barclays in Jersey, said: “Investing in branches is an important part of our strategy for customer service. With our newly trained staff now in place we think our customers will enjoy the experience of banking with us even more.”

49 employees across the islands of Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man have become community bankers.

The move also follows the development of a customer service centre in Jersey, employing 52 locally recruited colleagues to provide telephone support to Barclays’ local customers.

“With improved online and telephone banking and now improved digital services in branch, we think our customers have the best of both worlds thanks to this considerable investment in Jersey,” said Mr Savery.