FRIDAY, DECEMBER
14, 2001, marked a turning point for the National Export/ Import
(EX-IM) Bank of Jamaica. It was the day that their new Website was
launched. While 48 Duke Street remains home to the physical building,
www.eximbankja.com is the
bank's new address in cyberspace. The bank has contracted with The
Gleaner Company's Go Jamaica to build, host and maintain the Website,
the development of which comes at a time when the bank feels the
need to keep pace with the technological advances in the rapidly
changing world of business. According to Pamela McLean, Managing
Director at EX-IM, "in order to expand EX-IM's reach to the public
and expand its client base, a web site is considered an attractive
and very necessary tool." The Website will prove very useful to
potential and existing clients and will have information pertaining
to "the bank's corporate profile, details of export credit insurance
scheme, a summary of its audited financial statements, as well as
news and editorial features from the bank."
According to
the Director, the Website should also prove convenient to clients
in terms of access to information. Before, clients would have to
battle traffic and lines in order to get their queries answered
or their needs fulfilled. This was even more tedious for clients
whose businesses operate outside of the Kingston Metropolitan area
where the single office is based. Now, with the introduction of
a Website "it proves to be a real practical solution for our clients
in terms of accessibility and convenience right at their fingertips.
Certainly this possesses positive cost implications for them. Through
our Website we will definitely have the advantage to expand our
reach island wide," McLean quipped.
In phase 2 of
the web site development, the bank is proposing to "make available
electronically, application forms which will help to reduce the
number of visits clients will have to make to the bank just to pick
up an application form."
The Website
will also become an efficient linkage tool to other EX-IM Banks
around the world, as they will now be able to log on to the site
and get information on the bank.
"The Website
is expected to provide us with yet another tool in order to bridge
the (information) gap as we hasten to migrate to technology driven
operations and try to ensure availability of information to the
public both locally, regionally and internationally," Mrs. McLean
said.
