We know coronavirus is having a big impact here in Colchester and far beyond, and it’s a tough time for everyone. As a community bank, our mission to provide the very best in service and convenience is more important than ever before – and we’re doing everything we can to keep our store open and to keep supporting our local community.

A couple of weeks back I was approached by Sumit Sachdeva who runs Caresoft Global, a leading software and technology company here in Essex.

Shortly before the lockdown had been implemented, the company had welcomed a number of new staff that had relocated from abroad to deliver on a new project. Given its critical nature, the project has remained ongoing – while adhering to the necessary social distancing measures.

However Sumit explained to me that his new joiners had been struggling to find somewhere to open a new bank account – something they were in great need of to help them receive their salary into, manage their money and pay bills. 

At Metro Bank we’ve been focused on providing essential services, as well as encouraging customers to only visit our stores if it’s absolutely necessary. However, we purposefully haven’t provide a set definition of what constitutes essential services. What is essential for any customer will very much depend on their circumstances – and indeed those circumstances might have changed as a result of the impact of coronavirus.

With this in mind, we wanted to do everything we could help Sumit and his new team. They had an important job to be working on – so we wanted to let them focus on that. We processed a number of documents electronically, and travelled out to the company premises rather than having them all come to us. The accounts were up and running on the same day.

Sumit has been kind enough to send us some great feedback for adapting quickly to their needs, and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to welcome new customers to our Metro Bank community in spite of the difficult environment we’re all adjusting to.

I’m so proud of my team here and the way I’ve seen them support each other, and the people we’re here to serve. They are not only coming to work – but really committed to going the extra mile for customers.