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As time went by,
the subscription capital increased and the Board of Directors started to look
for new opportunities and avenues to expand the benefits and facilities for
its members. In 1984 the Singapore Police Thrift & Loan Society was
renamed The Singapore Police Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Ltd. The
Police Co-operative began to diversify its activities by entering into
various business ventures rather than just concentrating on granting loans.
Its objectives were expanded to include establishing and operating, either by
itself or in partnership with others, business ventures and owning properties
in Singapore and overseas. With this move, the
Police Co-operative branched out into joint business ventures with other
co-operative societies. It founded Premier Computer Co-operative Society Ltd
in 1988.
To keep up with the
progressive nature of Singapore and advancement of new
technology, decisions were made to fully computerise the Police Co-operative.
By so doing, staff productivity and operational efficiency were increased.
Computers were acquired and staff were sent for training in computer software
application and management courses. The Police Co-operative was one of the
first co-operatives to embark on a networking system to ensure security of
information, immediate information retrieval and streamlining of work
processes. With computerisation, services to members were tremendously
improved.
On 1st
August 1986,
an agreement for insurance on loan default cases was finally reached with
NTUC Income. From then on, all the loans given out by the Police Co-operative
to members were insured. Under this scheme, the eligibility of a member to
take a loan depended solely on his own ability and no longer on sureties.
Members need not be indebted to their friends just so that they could take a
loan. Hence, the membership of the Police Co-operative started to grow.
In late 1986, the Society
began to negotiate with OUB for the implementation of the Inter-Bank GIRO
system. This scheme allowed the Society to make payments directly to the
members' banks. Instead of issuing cheques, the money is banked into the
members' individual accounts. Members were saved the trouble of collecting
their cheques from the Society's office and the loan approval period was
shortened from fourteen to seven working days.
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