This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 21, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia) is temporarily closing eight of its 45 branches nationwide as it balances the need to provide essential banking services with protecting customers and staff’s well-being.

In a statement yesterday, UOB Malaysia said the eight branches are closed from yesterday to the end of the movement control order (MCO) period.

“It includes the bank’s branch at Medan Pasar near Masjid India, an area in Kuala Lumpur currently under an enhanced MCO,” it said.

UOB Malaysia chief executive officer Wong Kim Choong said the bank’s priority is to safeguard customers and colleagues’ health and safety.

“To ensure our people’s and customers’ safety, we decided to close a number of branches with significantly reduced traffic since the MCO implementation.

“We are committed to serving customers through the MCO period and will continue providing essential banking services through our branches that remain open, as well as through our online and mobile banking platforms.

“We will continue monitoring customer traffic across all our branches to ensure we serve customers, while helping to protect the well-being of all,” he said.

According to UOB Malaysia, customers can continue managing their cash needs via the bank’s automated teller machines and cash, cheque and coin deposit machines, from 8am to 8pm daily.

“Customers in the Masjid India area requiring over-the-counter services or self-service banking facilities can continue being served at the two nearest branches in Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Pudu.

“In line with the need for the community to adhere to safe distancing measures, UOB Malaysia encourages customers to use its digital banking services, including UOB Personal Internet Banking, UOB Business Internet Banking Plus and the UOB Mighty mobile app,” it added.