Accra, June 23, GNA - HFC Bank has assured its customers that it has in place adequate measures to ensure a smooth transition when the redenomination exercise takes off on July 1, this year. "We have prepared well for you so that you do not suffer unduly from the changeover," Mrs. Mary Asare Yeboah, Manager Banking operations told the customers at a forum organized by the Bank to educate them on the redenomination exercise. She said since the new currency would be in circulation alongside the present one for six months, there would be no need for people to rush to exchange their monies.

However, the HFC Bank was giving customers dedicated tellers at the various branches to enable those who would want to change their monies to do so without any problems. Mrs. Yeboah said all customers would also be sent statements of accounts in the old currency on June 30 to know their balances before the conversion of the accounts into the new Ghanaian cedi in July. She said the Automated Teller Machines of the Bank will also be closed temporarily to the general public from June 30 to July 2, 2007 to allow recalibration of the machines for the take-off of the new cedi denominations.

Mrs. Yeboah asked the customers to be wary of fraudsters because the bank had not authorized any institution to collect money on its behalf. She assured the customers that they could still change the old currency after the six month period even though it would have ceased to be a legal tender. Mrs. Yeboah also took the customers through how to identify the security features built into the new currency to forestall counterfeiting. Mr. Asare Akufo, Managing Director of HFC Bank said the bank would continue to improve on service delivery to meet the needs of customers.