Westpac is investing in systems that have chip cards to prevent the scammers from carrying out fraudulent activities, General Manager Fiji Brett Hooker said.

“We are quite lucky that our systems are very strong and robust.

“Monitoring systems in the background actually puts us as leaders in the market in Fiji.

“It has been a challenge in Fiji. This year we will take our security system to the next level.

“You got to keep up with the fraudulent activities and Fiji is not isolated in such issues,” he said.

There is a significant amount being invested in this upgrade of machines and cards.

“The security of our customers is important hence getting in better electronic systems in Fiji.

“The technology we using is used in larger markets like Australia and New Zealand which would make it more difficult for the cards to be scammed,” Mr Hooker said.

General Manager, International Westpac Banking Corporation, Balaji Swaminathan said: “Last year, we made a very strategic decision involving the Pacific Islands; we decided we wanted to focus our energy on two main markets, which is Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

“We need to be relevant to customers in Fiji and PNG markets are as important as Asian markets.

“One of the things that attracted me to Fiji is the growing and increasingly well talented pool of people that are available here. A great university which is able to produce high quality graduates.

“We look to expand not only domestic capability but also international capability for Fiji,” he said.

“The devastating effects of the cyclone have been very hard on us. The teams here have been working very hard. This includes taking mobile banking services to some islands where the effect was the highest.

“Traditional payment systems would not have been enough to take cash out for the affected people.

“We are also looking as to how we can aid the humanitarian efforts quite substantially. Across Westpac’s international business’s working with Red Cross and till last week we have contributed around $65,000.

“I’m personally leading an effort to help our employees rebuild their homes and bring them to that position they were in or near it before the cyclone hit.”

Post cyclone reconstruction takes a lot of time; money needs to go in the system to your point, fresh money comes into the system, this might drive away inflation.

“The physical policy has to be managed with the monetary policy as this happens but before that the well being of the people is important.

“If the reduction in any Government growth is function of what the Government is redirecting towards reconstruction which is for humanitarian grounds, personally I would support that.

“Identifying the type of behaviour that goes into fraudulent transactions and then working through remediation around that.”

Feedback:  aatika.patel@fijisun.com.fj