17 SEPARATE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023 Manchester and Reading. The time spent on the ground networking and building relationships allowed for the increased awareness of both the Legacy Foundation and BPWCCUL brands at a time when building trust has become critical. The presentations also provided opportunities to: • Inform the diaspora about the Foundation’s goals and objectives. • Strengthen relationships with the existing member community while building relationships with prospective new members. • Inform and engage possible new donor streams and give Barbadians in the diaspora the opportunity to give back and partner in our charitable efforts. The Foundation’s objective is to undertake initiatives that bring about positive changes and make a meaningful impact in the lives of others, while addressing underserved areas of need in the charity space. By becoming a donor to the Foundation, you too become a part of a credit union force striving to create a better future for all. Every donation counts, and as is the case annually, we ask that you help us to positively impact those who need it most by way of making your deposits in the donations’ boxes present in all of our branches. Further information on the Foundation is available online at www.legacyfoundation.org. Organisational Strengthening As the Credit Union sector and financial services industry on a whole transition into a post-COVID era, we at the Barbados Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union Ltd. need to be in a position to effectively manage the now entrenched changes brought on by the pandemic, pivot in response to both opportunities and threats that are present in our operating environment, and respond in a manner that delivers on our purpose of bringing benefits and value to our members and key stakeholders. To provide us with the focus required to achieve the above and navigate our changing environment, we will refresh our strategy during the 2023-24 reporting period to ensure that we continue on a path that will see us well prepared to face whatever the future brings. This will include continuation of a review of our digital offerings, an area we need to continue to enhance to ensure your interactions with us, and our channels and services are easy and efficient. Through a digital transformation project that is already in motion, we intend to invest in robust alternative electronic delivery channels to provide you with the convenience, security and flexibility you deserve in a busy world where online engagement is now the norm. Complementary to this, we will also continue to focus on our people and becoming an employer of choice through the successful completion of the corporate redesign initiative that, while largely completed, continues to engage our attention as we work through the implementation phase. Building out our governance, compliance and risk management frameworks has been a focus during the past year and will continue into the foreseeable future. To this end we have recruited a Chief Risk & Compliance Officer to focus on strategic risks and compliance matters, and have also provided additional resources to the department to focus on the day to day risks, in conjunction with the various business units. These enhancements, coupled with the provision of additional resources to the Internal Audit Department, has helped with the build-out of even stronger oversight and assurance teams to protect against us the various current and emerging risks the financial services sector is particularly susceptible to. Our strong capital position provides us with a stable base to continue to invest in these key priorities, and to assist our members while working towards sustainable future growth - even in these tumultuous times. As we continue to reinvent ourselves through a strategy refresh and key transformational projects, our focus will continue to be on channelling our investments and resourcing directly into those areas that will most help us to succeed. Digital Enhancements Recognising the importance of technology in delivering superior member experiences, the Credit Union has implemented solutions to provide members with greater convenience in the management of their financial affairs, particularly as it relates to money management and electronic payment and transfers. The Real Time Payment (RTP) service and the BillPay upgrade form part of the upgraded suite of services available on the online banking platform, specifically designed to enhance operational efficiency and enable faster service delivery. Real Time Payments (RTP) This service allows members to send and/ or receive funds between their Credit Union account and accounts at other financial institutions, whether in their own name or in another member’s/customer’s name. As part of the process and to ensure member security, members will receive real time confirmation of the transaction settlement once it has been completed. BillPay Upgrade During the reporting period the Credit Union embarked on the upgrade of the backend of the existing BillPay solution, transitioning from the previous end of day manual process, to an automated delivery of payment information through the Surepay payment network. The upgraded BillPay service passes the payment information from the Credit Union to the Surepay platform in real time when a member completes a payment request in the front-end module, improving on the previous batching of payments and the once daily end of day transfers done under the old system. Collectively, these changes will: • Significantly reduce the time for members’ transfers to be credited to accounts at the various vendors
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