Staff Reporter
After six years of delivering its popular money transfer and money exchange services through six branches in Auckland, Relianz Forex launched its first branch in Wellington on August 21.
The capital’s Indian and South Asian community had long been requesting the company to open a branch to avail of its well acknowledged customer service culture, business ethics, excellent exchange rates and strong commitment to compliance measures that were hitherto accessible only by Aucklanders.
“Though we have had requests from Wellington to start our services for some time now, we wanted to fine-tune our service delivery in Auckland before we ventured out,” Relianz Forex Director Giri Giridharan said.
“We are now confident we can offer our same high standards of service outside Auckland.”
Iconic location
After due research to determine the ideal central location to serve the Wellington community, Relianz decided on a spot in the iconic Old Bank Arcade building on Wellington’s busy Lambton Quay. The building has an impressive history and is a must see on several of the city’s walking tour itineraries.
Its shopping arcade, with a variety of stores and cafes, is well visited throughout the day.
Relianz has always strived to put the customer at the centre of its business practice and it was fitting that the company decided to open the Wellington branch at the hands of the first five customers to arrive at the newly opened premises in the capital.
Just before 10 am on the day, customers began showing up at the branch, thanks to the company’s promotion on social media platforms and sheer word of mouth.
Good beginning
The branch was ceremonially inaugurated as Pandit Jagdish Prasad of the well-known ‘Higher Taste’ vegetarian restaurant, also situated at the Arcade, chanted holy verses.
Shortly thereafter, Gopal Chandra Mandal, the first Wellingtonian customer, lit the first wick of the ceremonial lamp, watched by as guests and staff.
Other customers then lit the remaining wicks of the lamps and the branch was well on its way to serve the capital’s customers.
Fee waived
Pawan Mahajan and Maniraj Parvataneni are the two officials who will be serving customers visiting the Lambton Quay branch.
The first five customers who effected a transaction on the day of the inauguration would have their transfer fees permanently waived as a special gesture from the Relianz management.
The Old Bank Arcade is a busy spot with considerable foot traffic and the small inauguration ceremony attracted the attention of a number of passersby who stopped to ask questions and find out more about Relianz’s services.
Mr Giridharan and his staff were kept busy talking to people who turned up and stopped by throughout the morning.
Integrated branch
The branch is fully integrated with the company’s six branches in Auckland being connected to the network through the company’s proprietary and secure communications platform.
The company has recently added a new toll free number 0800-030609 to its existing 0508411111 in view of the increased number of enquiries from customers.
With the inauguration of the Wellington branch, the South Asian community in other centres of New Zealand is also looking forward to accessing Relianz’s services.
“The idea is certainly to bring our services close to our communities. We are always looking at opportunities,” Mr Giridharan said.
Photo :
- Gopal Chandra Mandal, first customer at the Relianz Forex Wellington Branch with Director Giri Giridharan after lighting the ceremonial lamp
- Giri Giridharan (Centre) with (from left) Maniraj Parvataneni, Pawan Mahajan and Gopal Chandra Mandal at the Relianz Forex Wellington branch
