Former Director Joe Issa Welcomes First Global Bank To Ocho Rios

Former Director Joe Issa Welcomes First Global Bank To Ocho Rios Ocho Rios businessman Joe Issa is congratulating First Global Bank (FGB) on its recent successes and welcoming it to the north coast St. Ann resort.

The FGB Ocho Rios branch which opens on January 25th will be its 7th on the island. This branch will have the Video Teller Machine (VTM) technology to provide a greater reach to its business and retail customers in St. Ann and neighboring parishes.

Issa, a former director of the bank, says First Global (FGB) has grown tremendously and is proud to have participated in the process. “As a former director of FGB I watched it grow to what it is today and I am proud of the successes it has achieved since opening its doors to the public.

“Now, I’m even more delighted by the news that the bank is opening a branch in Ocho Rios to serve the parish, as the closest one is in Montego Bay,” says Issa, who is among a few big Jamaican businesses to locate their headquarters in the busy resort town.

In addition to the establishment of the new FGB branch in Ocho Rios, which Issa says will considerably enhance the business landscape of the parish he is also welcoming its new President and CEO, Mrs. Mariame McIntosh Robinson, who currently serves on the Board of Directors.

Issa is no stranger to attending prestigious universities, such as College of the Holy Cross in the United States and London School of Economics in the United Kingdom, as well as to academic achievements, being the youngest Jamaican Certified Public Accountant, among other firsts.

Says he: “As a Rhodes Scholar graduated from Oxford, Harvard and MIT, they don’t come better than Mrs. McIntosh Robinson; she is experienced at the highest level of international banking and finance and makes a perfect fit with FGB, especially at a time when it needs to push the technology frontier to provide superior customer service on which it can compete for business.”

The FGB has recently installed new Video Teller Machines with expanded teller service hours. First Global Bank was the first in the Caribbean to introduce a VTM, an interactive video technology that allows a live teller to take remote control of an ATM. The new technology enables staff at FGB’s Teller Centre to remotely interact with customers inside the branch and complete up to 95% of transactions typically completed by tellers at the counters.

The VTM machine was unveiled at the opening of FGB’s new expanded space in Manor Park Plaza. “The benefit is that we can now offer teller service 12 hours per day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” said Grace Kennedy Group CEO Don Wehby in an email to customers outlining the new initiatives. He says, “Manor Park represents the prototype for a new style of branch – highly efficient and providing improved customer convenience through technology.”

Wehby, who also informed that the FGB mobile banking app is now available on Apple, Android and Blackberry OS, said “it is the stated commitment of First Global to be first in convenience and best in customer experience…. It is easy to see that First Global is well on its way to achieving this vision.”