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Gateway knows that many of our members are small business owners who have seen their operations affected either directly or indirectly by COVID-19. Whether you run your own taxi service, sell handmade craft to visitors or manage teams in the hotel industry, we want to make sure that you have access to the most important information that every Small or Medium Enterprise needs to weather the storm of COVID-19. The banks and other financial institutions have had extensive discussions about the potential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on their Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) customers. SMEs should contact their financial institutions to ask about support during this difficult period, including: Potential payment deferrals/moratoriums or extensions on business loans, mortgages and car loans; Accessing short term working capital support at reduced rates; Early access to term deposits without penalty for breaking investment; Temporary fee waivers on various bank services. To manage employee isolation time and other COVID-19 related absences, there should be provisions for: Normal sick leave entitlements & any unused portions; Medical certificate-provided entitlements; Short term disability; Flexible work hours; Special leave for extended illnesses; Compassionate leave; Unused or accumulated vacation time; Implement flexible policies that permit employees to stay home to care for sick family members. Many landlords have been sensitized to the new economic realities. SMEs have successfully approached some landlords individually or as tenant groups to seek out waivers or extensions on rent payments: We ask that landlords take into consideration the unique circumstances of the global pandemic especially when dealing with historically “good” tenants; Landlords, in turn, can seek out payment deferrals on mortgages from their bankers. SMEs are encouraged to sign up employees for the National Health Fund Card Programme which provides subsidies to every person in Jamaica at any age for the treatment of chronic illnesses: Significant savings can be achieved on prescription drugs; NHF cards work in combination with private insurance and with the otherwise uninsured. Approach your business and health insurance company regarding: Review business insurance policies to determine if there are any provisions that provide cover for natural disasters such as pandemics or other business contingencies. Possibility of temporary breaks in health insurance premium payments while the insurance remains intact; One local insurance company has announced that it will reinstate insurance policies that have lapsed in the last 12 months; In anticipation of national supply chain disruptions in medicines, request the ability of your vulnerable employees to swipe for a 3 month supply of medicines rather than the usual 1 month. Keep in active communication with your customers. By using text, email or the various social media tools, ensure that your customers understand: Changing opening hours; Any reduction in services; Any special discounts or credit being offered; Any new delivery or remote payment options that have been implemented; How best to contact your business. Review all significant business contracts be it suppliers, customers, bankers, landlords, insurance and/or employment and see what provisions you may have to navigate your way more easily through your current obligations: Check whether you may apply a Force Majeure clause - unforeseeable circumstances that prevent you from fulfilling a contractual obligation. In anticipation of global disruptions to supply chains, conduct an assessment of how dependent your business is on imports. Consider issues such as whether it is prudent to take some of your working capital facility to buy supplies ahead (~3 months) to ensure business continuity in case your supply is interrupted. If you are in a business that can function with employees working from home: Express trust in employee commitment to the company: “We are depending on you to carry us through this”; Ensure that, where possible you have facilitated the appropriate high-speed data plan at your employees’ homes with each person having access to the appropriate files; Create a twice a day group call or check in, to ensure everyone is staying on track and being productive; working at home is a new state of affairs and therefore needs to be managed differently; Check out various online tools to support work at home productivity: Hubstaff (sign on/sign off portals); Zoom (online meetings); SKYPE (tele- and video-conferencing); Slack (Team Collaboration Software); ASANA (Workplace Training); As the SME utility bill decreases, take into consideration the increase utility usage of employees at home and provide subsidies where possible; Set up secure VPN protocols for employees who are required to access SME‘s network remotely. Social distancing (keeping 3-6 feet from each other) is the leading way to minimize the spread of COVID-19: Ensure your workplace is set up in a way that allows for social distancing; Reduce/Stagger days and hours to minimize the number of people at work at the same time; Stagger opening and closing times so employees don’t travel during peak periods; Consider the possibility of providing worker transportation to and from work (even just for the health vulnerable if not for everyone) as our public transportation system is one of the main areas where it might be difficult to remain socially distant; Encourage lunch time delivery to minimize worker contact in external environments where social distancing maybe more difficult to achieve; Consider using meeting software like Zoom even in the office; Companies with wait lines should consider taping markers on the floor to guide customers in keeping appropriate distances from each other; Allocate dedicated opening hours for elderly customers to reduce their risk of exposure. Be committed to workplace hygiene: Discourage handshakes; Ensure everyone sanitizes hands as they enter the premises; Remind workers not to touch their faces; encourage them to remind each other; Regularly sanitize frequently touched surfaces including desks, counters, doorknobs, handrails, chair backs, elevator buttons and desk phones; Provide disposable wipes so commonly used surfaces can be wiped by each employee; Place hand sanitizers in multiple locations to encourage hygiene; Place signs reminding customers and employees about the importance of frequent sanitizing. If you have not already done so, now is a good time to register your business with the Companies Office of Jamaica: It is likely that many of the benefits/subsidies that are or will become available can only be accessed by registered entities. Convert as much of your outstanding receivables and inventory into cash as soon as possible: Collect monies owed and sell out as much inventory as you can; having available cash will be critical in upcoming months. Preserve your cash for the unforeseen: Examine your monthly expenses with a fine-toothed comb; where there might be any unnecessary expense, cut it. Consider reducing your product or service offerings; there are hidden costs to running a complex organization (e.g. if you have a restaurant menu with 20 items, consider reducing it to your top 8 most popular items). Negotiate with your bigger suppliers for some more flexible payment terms in the near term (~3-6 months), even if it accrues interest. If you are considering lay offs but not closing completely, consider the possibility of keeping more people on at a reduced salary as well as redefining the scope of work for some staff members. Consideration could also be given to sending the most vulnerable home with a small monthly stipend contributed from company profits and/or from the able bodied workers’ wages who continue to be fully employed: Have an open conversation with your workers about the various options and brainstorm ideas that would be mutually beneficial. If you are closing down completely, consider where there might be parting gifts to ease the pain such as food or inventory in the company’s supply. If you are closing your premises, be mindful of the need for additional security: • Glass storefront may need to be covered with metal siding; • More frequent patrols during the day by your security company; • Consider hiring additional security company as a group of SMEs in close proximity if you feel your locked up business may not be safe. Create an employee “check-in” chain link. Each employee must be responsible for knowing how another employee and their family is holding up. None of us have been through this before and so this is a time when we need to stand for each other. Let us preserve what we are by standing together for the benefit of all the people of our nation. An article published by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ).

Originally posted on Jamaica Observer- see original article Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League is the umbrella organisation of credit unions in Jamaica. “For loans, at the start of January 2017, we had $3.82 billion. But by the end of the year we had grown to $4.12 billion in loans. Whilst the movement grew by 12 .6 per cent in terms of loan, Gateway showed 25.6 per cent, twice the average of the movement – and for that we would like to thank you (members),” Johnson said. Speaking at the 2018 annual general meeting of the Gateway Co-operative Credit Union Ltd, held last week at the Seventh-day Conference Centre in Mount Salem, St James, Johnson emphasised Gateway's savings for 2017, which also surpassed that of the national movement. “At the start of January 2017 we had $4.88 billion in savings and by the end of December 2017 we had $5.4 billion. This is a 13 per cent growth and when you compare it to what happens in the movement,; they are growing by 9.8 per cent,” Johnson stated. He added: “In total assets we had moved from $6.1 billion to $7 billion. Now, while the movement grew by 8.8 per cent, Gateway grew by all of 16 per cent. So what I want you to know is Gateway, your credit union is solid like a rock.” He noted that through the hard work of the management staff, Gateway, which has branches in Montego Bay, St James, and Lucea, Hanover, “was able to put out a healthy surplus of $133 million” at the end of 2017. Meanwhile, the president announced that members of Gateway will benefit from plans by the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League to undertake a connectivity project which will allow members to access service at any credit union institution across the island. “As a part of a movement, because you know there are about 27 other credit unions in the movement there is a connectivity project which is being put in place. That means, let's say you are in Kingston and you need funds, you don't have to bother your head as to what you are going to do, you can go to any credit union branch and do your business just as you are doing it at Gateway,” Johnson said. He also told the Gateway members of plans to set up an e-banking hall. “We want your journey with us, as members, to be easy so we want in the future to set up an e-banking hall – that is, you can come in, and in air-conditioned comfort and lovely surroundings you can do your business. We also want to make sure that when you come to our branches the speed of doing business will be second to none. That is where the membership is going,” he said. During the meeting, members of the executive were returned en bloc. Horace Hines

Originally Posted on Jamaica Gleaner - See original article here Gateway Co-operative Credit Union (2017) Limited, which was formed from the merger of the Hanover and Montego co-operative credit unions less than two years ago, is reporting a surplus of $133 million for the 2017-2018 financial year. Speaking at the annual general meeting (AGM) held at the West Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in St James recently, Gateway's President Lambert Johnson told shareholders that the financial institution, which began its operations on January 3, 2017, grew its assets from $6.1 billion to $7 billion. "While inflation rate was 5.2 per cent last year and foreign exchange rate was stable, with economic growth in the region of about 1.5 per cent, and having regards to the fact that we operate in a very competitive environment, for 2017, we were able to put out a healthy surplus of $133 million," he said. There was also a 13 per cent growth in savings, with $4.88 billion at the start of January 2017 to $5.4 billion in December. For loans, Gateway doubled the average of 12.6 per cent in the credit union movement to an increase of 25.6 per cent, totalling $4.12 billion, with an additional $2 billion under investment. "So what I am here to tell you today is that Gateway, your credit union, is as solid as a rock," the president declared. "We have taken a sales approach at Gateway, so we have money to lend, so you need to borrow, borrow, borrow." Gateway Co-operative Credit Union serves the entire county of Cornwall, which means that the bond of the new institution will include the parishes of Trelawny, Westmoreland, and St Elizabeth, along with Hanover and St James. The Hanover branch of the Gateway Cooperative Credit Union is located on Main Street in Lucea. Formerly the Hanover Cooperative Credit Union, it was established by the late educator Enid Watson Gonsalves in 1975 in an effort to encourage thrift among the citizens of Hanover. The St James branch of Gateway consists of two locations, one at Sam Sharpe Square and the other at Church Street. Formerly the Montego Cooperative Credit Union, it was formed out of a merger between St Paul's and St James Credit Union in 1969. Mark Titus

Originally posted on Jamaica Observer see original post here MONTEGO BAY, St James — The thrust by Gateway Co-operative Credit Union — which boast assets in excess of $7.5 billion — to roll out cutting-edge technology for the delivery of products and services such as online banking and online ATM is nearly 90 per cent completed Gateway Cooperative Credit Union is celebrating its first year in operation, having started in January 17 last year due to a merger of the Hanover Cooperative Credit Union and Montego Cooperative Credit Union. Gateway Co-operative Credit Union technology services build-out near completion disclosed that in another year or so, the new wave of technology will be available to its over 64,000 members. “Gateway is on a path to build out cutting-edge technology in delivering products and services to our members in a more efficient way. So you are talking about our online banking, our online ATM services; that's the kind of progress we are making and we are looking forward to,” Bedasse disclosed. “We have already embarked on it, I would say we are about 85 per cent there so in another year or two all that will be built out and we hope that it will serve our members better.” He was speaking to the Jamaica Observer following the credit union's annual scholarship and bursary awards ceremony held at the Grandiosa Hotel in Montego Bay last week. He explained that the co-operative, which enjoys savings in excess of $5.3 billion and $4.6 billion in loans, is also on a mission to mould young minds. “It's our annual scholarship and bursary awards — we have been doing it for 25 years now — so we try to assist the needy students in our community. Gateway operates within the community and we are giving back to the community. I think it is important not only in terms of giving back, but to assist the education process in terms of nurturing our young children. They are the future leaders and we want to play our part in getting them ready for leadership,” Bedasse declared. During last week's function, the credit union provided some $750,000 in scholarships and bursaries to more than 16 students who were successful in their Grade Six Achievement Test, bringing to $7 million in scholarships and bursaries provided to 375 students from the county of Cornwall over the past 25 years. The financial institution also put in over $1.5 million in sponsorship for this year's staging of the Gateway Schools Academic Championship Quiz competition for primary schools earlier this year. Horace Hines

Originally posted on Jamaica Information Service- see article here Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the credit union movement has become such a formidable force that it is now ranked as the largest membership organisation in the country. Mr. Holness, who was speaking at the media launch of Gateway Co-operative Credit Union (2017) Limited at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre on June 7, added that with the movement comprising one million members, it also rivals the number of depositors and accounts in commercial banks. “With $73 billion in savings, $64 billion in loans and $95 billion in assets, it is clear that credit unions are a powerful institution in Jamaica and have been meeting a clear demand,” Mr. Holness noted. The Prime Minister said the guiding structure of credit unions enables these institutions to develop financial products that are tailored to their members. “They also play a significant role in supporting education, training, housing, micro and small enterprises, and generally supporting the economic development of Jamaica,” he said. Mr. Holness further noted that credit unions, at their core, are focused on communities and play a key role in fostering greater access to financial services. “Gateway Co-Operative Credit Union services will reflect the demands of its members, particularly those from St. James and Hanover. I also see where they have drawn from Trelawny and St. Elizabeth with members,” he said. Gateway Co-operative Credit Union Limited was formed through a merger of the Montego and Hanover Co-operative Credit Unions on January 3, 2017. As a single entity, Gateway is now the fourth largest credit union in Jamaica, boasting membership of approximately 70,000 and total assets of $6.1 billion. The Prime Minister pointed out that the Government is firmly committed to financial inclusion and that credit unions, with their great penetration, play a critical role in achieving this and also “driving our growth agenda”. “Jamaica’s connection to the co-operative credit union is rich. Before they were formalised, Jamaicans were already practising co-operative banking informally through the partner system. Jamaicans instinctively understand the value of using a collective mechanism to expand their finances. Credit unions are a reflection of this instinct… people helping people,” Mr. Holness said. The Prime Minister noted that the Credit Union Reform process, which started almost 16 years ago, included a decision in 2015 to have primary legislation to regulate the credit union sector, giving direct supervision of credit unions through the Bank of Jamaica. “I have been paying close attention. I don’t like to get too much into the regulatory issues, especially where there are statutory authorities to do this. However, anything that involves one million people and $95 billion in assets, the Prime Minister has to take account,” he said. Mr. Holness said he was determined that before any legislation was passed, it was incumbent that dialogue be had with the Credit Union League to discuss the intricacies surrounding regulations. “The legislation started before we became the Government, so I wanted to be clear on both the intention and the process and to be satisfied that, whatever we were doing, we were not about to make enemies of one million persons,” he added. The Prime Minister said the meetings and dialogue have been very respectful, and to the point where there is now a climate of trust between all parties. The Prime Minister said he was also mindful that for 70 years, when people were locked out of the formal banking system, it was the credit union that filled the gap in providing credit for the average Jamaican citizen. Mr. Holness said that from what he has seen, the new thrust will be that whatever regulations are passed, they will, in no way, disrupt the normal operations of the credit unions. Garwin Davis

Originally posted on Jamaica Gleaner- see original article here The merger of the Hanover and Montego Co-operative Credit Unions to form what is now the Gateway Co-operative Credit Union (2017) Limited officially came into effect on January 3. The new entity is the newest credit union in Jamaica and has two branches in western Jamaica: Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay; and Main Street in Lucea, Hanover. The Gateway Co-operative Credit Union will boast membership of approximately 70,000 and total assets of $6.1 billion. According to Ornell Badasse, CEO, Gateway Co-operative Credit Union, the merger has created greater opportunity for growth and a wider range of product offerings for members. "With this merger, the work has now begun for this credit union to be listed among the 'mega' credit unions in Jamaica, and that's a position we aim for," he said. Gateway Co-operative Credit Union will serve the entire county of Cornwall, which means that the bond of the new institution will include the parishes of Trelawny, Westmoreland, and St Elizabeth, along, with Hanover and St James. "The members of the former credit unions will now be able to conduct business at any branch that is convenient, and we are working to ensure that the high levels of service previously offered are surpassed, thus ensuring member satisfaction and retention," stated General Manager - Operations, Jennifer Taylor-Wilson. The Hanover branch of the Gateway Cooperative Credit Union is located on Main Street in Lucea. Formerly the Hanover Cooperative Credit Union, it was established by the late educator Enid Watson Gonsalves in 1975 in an effort to encourage thrift among the citizens of Hanover. The St James branch of Gateway consists of two locations, one at Sam Sharpe Square and the other at Church Street. Formerly the Montego Cooperative Credit Union, it was formed out of a merger between St Paul's and St James Credit Union in 1969.

Originally posted on Loop- see original article here As of next Tuesday, January 3, 2017, almost 70,000 members of the Hanover Co-operative Credit Union and the Montego Co-operative Credit Union will begin benefiting from a wider variety of products and services under a merger of the two entities. The combined operation is to be undertaken under a new trading name, Gateway Co-operative Credit Union (2017) Limited. The members of the Hanover Co-operative Credit Union voted for the merger in February at their annual general meeting, and the membership of the Montego Bay institution voted for the union in June.