AS the nation grew, so did Westpac. Their partnership with Fiji has a history filled with humble beginnings, rolling up their sleeves to help customers through the good times and the bad, responding to local needs and embracing the Fijian way of life.
And as the longest serving bank, they are proud to have had the unique opportunity to share the lives of so many across this nation.
Today, Westpac is one of Fiji’s leading commercial banks.
The first Governor of Fiji, Sir Arthur Gordon, had requested Westpac, then known as The Bank of New South Wales, to open its first branch in Suva in August 1901.
A history booklet provided by Westpac shows that bank manager William McRae was joined by an accountant and junior officer to run the bank.
All records were manually updated and maintained back then.
It was reported that he secured a premises the central position opposite the wharf, being portion of the building remainder of which is occupied by The Fiji Times.
” It was virtually an iron shell with wooden ceiling, road on west and south sides,” Mr McRae says. In the 1940s, banking facilities were made available to Savusavu customers by the Bank of New South Wales.
Every three months, two male bank officers dressed in white shirts and white knee length socks turned up for business. They usually arrived on board one of the regular schooners that used to service the outer islands and both were equipped with guns for protection against hold ups.
Banking was also introduced to parts of Levuka and Taveuni with the bank officer visiting loyal customers at their shops, schools or at their homes, which were usually large copra estates.
The bank officer travelled by schooner and later by plane when domestic flights were established.
And in 1960 new branches were established. This saw expanding job opportunities for local people. By 1966 there was a growing number of local employees, including quite a few women.
The staff complement enabled the bank to understand local needs and to respond to them quickly. Rosie Prasad (Karan) was the first lady officer appointed in 1978.
In 1970 Fiji gained independence. By then the Bank had 40 points of representation throughout Fiji.
This time. branches were located in Suva, Lautoka, Nadi, Ba, Sigatoka, Tavua, Rakiraki, Nausori, Labasa, Levuka and Savusavu. With independence came a change in currency. Pounds changed to dollars and shillings and pence to cents, and the bank records were updated to reflect Fiji’s new independence.
On 1 October 1982, the bank formally changed its name to Westpac.
The change was a result of a merger between the Bank of New South Wales and the Commercial Bank of Australia. Along with the change came new staff uniforms and in 1983 a new training centre was established, dedicated to staff development.
The 1990s were a decade of change as Westpac introduced new technology to better serve the changing needs of customers. Westpac was the first to introduce Electronic Funds Transfers at Point of Sale (EFTPOS) machines into the country.
Automated Teller Machines were introduced in 1991 and in 1995 for customer convenience a Customer Service Call Centre was set up. In the 1980s the Rakiraki, Savusavu and Nabua agencies were converted to branches to cater for the ever growing needs of customers and local businesses.
Westpac supported many organisations including statutory bodies like the Fiji Electricity Authority (FEA), the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) and the national airline Air Pacific. In 1981 the bank introduced a mainframe ICL computer system to replace manual banking tasks. This was a significant change for the Bank which enabled an enhancement to customer service.
One of Westpac’s taglines in the early 2000s was “Every generation should live better than the last.”
We’ve continued to play an active role in the community, partnering with many community organisations including the Rotary Pacific Water for Life Foundation, the Fiji Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
Westpac’s Microfinance Unit opened 22,000 accounts in early 2011 to facilitate electronic payments for social welfare recipients — for many it was their first bank account.
