A Kamloops man says many seniors are concerned about how they can pay bills or access cash because of fewer banking options during the COVID-19 pandemic.

John Dennery says many seniors don’t have internet, are trying to stay home and aren’t sure when banks are open, and that not everyone knows how to use an ATM.

“A good example is, the other day I was at the bank and they keep telling you to use the bank machines. And this lady said ‘I don’t know how.’ And the chap said ‘well I’ll show you.’ And she says ‘I still won’t be able to remember.’ She said ‘I can’t remember my pass numbers all the time and I forget,'” Dennery says.

“I guess they’re looking at their staff and don’t want them sick too, I can appreciate that. But I can remember, years ago, the banks, they had Plexiglass all across the front of their counters. And all there was, was a little spot underneath the Plexiglass where you’d hand the stuff to them. So there is ways around things.”

B.C. Senior Advocate Isobel Mackenzie tells NL News that the 211 phone service may be able to link seniors to the tools and information that they need on banking.

“The short answer is, they might be able to [help],” Mackenzie says.

“They have at their fingertips a repository of information. They have something like 8,000 different agencies and conduits to things throughout British Columbia. And so it is possible that they will be able to troubleshoot with the person phoning, to be able to find what it is they need to find to deal with some of these issues. And it may be that there’s a 1-800 number, a website or someone else who is dealing with that. And the 211 operator would be able to direct them to that.”

The 211 has recently been expanded to help seniors all over B.C. during the COVID-19 crisis; the service previously was only available on coastal B.C. but is now available across the Interior. Now, seniors who call that number will get a live operator who can arrange seniors to get help with errands.