 Bank of St. Lucia and St. Lucia Workers Credit Union partner in a historic collaboration to provide credit union members with contactless debit cards. A small ceremony with stakeholders last week marked the official launch of this new milestone that both of the St. Lucia Workers Credit Union Visa card powered by Bank of St. Lucia. We have more in this report. In 2020, Bank of St. Lucia launched its contactless Visa, Credit and Debit cards. Today, the financial institution is extending this important convenience banking service to members of the St. Lucia Workers Credit Union by way of this partnership. According to Deputy Managing Director Lyndon Arnold, accessibility to one's funds is important and a priority for every financial institution and BOSL is extremely excited to share this innovation with the staff and members of the St. Lucia Workers Credit Union. Because since the onset of COVID last year, what we've seen now as the norm are the long queues outside of banks, supermarkets, utility companies, and it is really not an efficient use of our time in terms of that queuing. And that passion has translated into us at Bank of St. Lucia finding ways of how we can better serve our customers to allow them to make better use of their time. And I remember on a few occasions in recent weeks having to pass across the Derrick Walcott Square there and realize that outside your entrance doors, those queues also exist. But guess what? With the card now, those queues can be shortened. In addition to being able to access funds at all Bank of St. Lucia ATMs, local ATMs, and 1 million ATMs worldwide, card holders will be able to shop online and make use of the card to make purchases locally and globally. The President and General Manager of the Credit Union were present and shared their zeal and appreciation for the project finally coming to fruition. Today, I somehow feel very humbled by this occasion and humbled why because I think that a small organization which started out of a briefcase based on the ideas of a few persons with a vision to create something that could last, something that could provide the means to empower not just their staff but later on much of St. Lucia is now taking an even greater step. We have come a long way and we are here right now with a product that is going to benefit our members. We know what COVID did and we saw our members being disadvantaged during the COVID times, not being able to access their funds when the Credit Union was closed. And today, I would say that we are ready should another pandemic, God forbid, happen. Our members are now positioned whereby they would not be left out in the cold. Member of the St. Lucia Workers' Credit Union, Leslie Collimer, says that despite the fact that people see Credit Unions as a savings institution, it's equally important to be able to give members that option. The technology has been there within the last 12 to 15 years but what the pandemic has taught us is it's made it mandatory to move into the digital space and not everybody has the expertise or appetite for it. And so the Credit Union actually being brave enough to take that step and partnering with entities such as Bankers and Lucia who is tried and tested and have the expertise was a really smart move. Since the advent of COVID-19, Bank of St. Lucia has launched and implemented a plethora of technologically advanced initiatives aimed at improving convenience and safety for customers. Customers can expect to hear more exciting news of new services and partnerships in the near future. For the Government Information Service, I am Jessi Léon reporting.