CONSUMERS across the region will see major savings in data costs as a result of a partnership between two major regional players in telecommunications and finance.
CIBC FirstCaribbean has announced an agreement with Flow for the zero rating of the bank’s top sites as well as its award-winning mobile banking app. Under the zero-rating initiative implemented earlier this month across 11 territories where the bank and Flow have a presence, clients will not be charged for any data used when logging on to the bank’s mobile app, online banking platform or corporate website.
“Zero-rating is coming at a time when we know many clients are under financial pressure, and our sincere hope is that by absorbing the data costs associated with using our banking apps and website, our clients can save a little extra towards other essential things for themselves and their families,” said Esan Peters, Chief Information Officer and Managing Director, Technology & Operations, at CIBC FirstCaribbean.
He noted that the “zero-rating of the CIBC FirstCaribbean Mobile and Online Banking represents a continuation of our strategy to encourage our clients to migrate to our digital channels where a number of products, services and transactions are already offered free of charge”.
Country Manager, Flow Barbados and Head of B2B for the Southern Caribbean, Jenson Sylvester, also hailed the initiative.
“Flow is proud to establish this key partnership with CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank that results in immediate and tangible benefits for our customers, and indeed, the wider Caribbean community.
“From our perspective as a service provider, we are also committed to the exchange of ideas and sustained collaboration, and we very much look forward to further exploring the ways we can continue to work together to help usher in a new era of digital transactions that are rich in value for consumers,” Mr Sylvester said.
Countries in which the zero-rating applies are Antigua, Barbados, The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts, Turks and Caicos Islands and St Vincent and the Grenadines.