LIHU‘E — At the heart of the $1 million renovation of the Rice Street Bank of Hawaii location here will be an ATM lanai accessible 24 hours a day, bank officials said. Curtis Tom, Bank of Hawaii vice president and
LIHU‘E — At the heart of the $1 million renovation of the Rice Street Bank of Hawaii location here will be an ATM lanai accessible 24 hours a day, bank officials said.
Curtis Tom, Bank of Hawaii vice president and Kaua‘i district manager, said the new state-of-the-art ATMs will be one of the biggest features of the renovated branch.
The new ATMs will be available for both business customers and holders of personal accounts, and the machines will offer a check-cashing feature.
The renovation of the Lihu‘e Bank of Hawaii branch on Rice Street should be completed by the end of February.
The newly remodeled branches will include wider lobby space along with state-of-the-art ATM machines enclosed in new bank lanais that will be accessible 24 hours a day.
The project, which cost approximately $1 million, began around Labor Day of 2003, and is the first in a series of renovation projects of Neighbor Island Bank of Hawaii branches.
According to Tom Koide, the executive vice president of the Bank of Hawaii, the renovation project came about in an effort to offer better customer service and a modern visual appeal.
“We wanted more consistency with the look of all of our branches,” said Koide.
“It’s a departure from the traditional type of bank. When they come inside, we want all of our customers to be able to recognize the look right away and know that it is a Bank of Hawaii branch,” Koide said.
“The interior is more inviting for customers,” said Tom. “It also better ties in with the remodeling project of the Civic Center location that the mayor (Bryan J. Baptiste) has in the works.”
According to Tom, the Kaua‘i renovation project was needed.
“The building itself is over a hundred years old,” said Tom. “It was certainly time to renovate it. The last renovation of the facility was in the 1960s.”
The Bank of Hawaii Lihu‘e branch has been open to customers for all services during the project.
“The progress has been great,” said Koide. “It’s been a little inconvenient for our customers, but they have been supportive of the project.”
Bank of Hawaii Corporation is a regional, financial-services company serving business and government customers and individual consumers in Hawai‘i, American Samoa and the West Pacific.
The company’s principal subsidiary, Bank of Hawaii, was founded in 1897, and is the largest independent financial institution in Hawai‘i. Total assets were $9.5 billion as of the end of last year.
Business Editor Barry Graham may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net.
