Vault268 Feature in Business Capital Asia Sep 2016 Issue
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Transcript of Vault268 Feature in Business Capital Asia Sep 2016 Issue
Vault@268
Vault@268: StaShing valuableS goeS high tech In a world where you can store
documents in the ‘cloud’ and read ‘books’
on a tablet or e-reader, can there still be
much demand for that Gilded Age relic,
the safe deposit box?
Vault@268’s Executive Director
Charlene Kang is betting the answer,
even in this digital world, is “yes.”
The automated safe deposit box
facility on 268 Orchard Road is aiming
to leverage an advanced robotic system
to revolutionize a part of banking that
even the Internet cannot replace.
executive Director Charlene Kang
Out with the Old… Traditional bank safe deposit box-
es operate under the dual key system;
both the bank and the client hold a key
to the safe deposit box, which requires
both keys to unlock it. Access to them is
restricted to banking hours and you have
to wait for a bank employee to come
and open one of the locks. According to
Kang, not only is this inconvenient, it is
not very private for most people.
Kang also acknowledged that bank
safe deposit box services are slowly van-
ishing, “Banks have to keep in mind the
liability and the risks involved. This busi-
ness requires a lot of care, attention and
the costs of security requirements like
24-hour surveillance and higher wages
have made this a burden to the banks.”
“As office rents in Singapore soar,
businesses, including banks, have to val-
idate the way they use the space. Fur-
thermore, it is hard to get permanent
staff seeking administrative duty in a
cold vault as a career path,” she added.
…in with the new Vault@268 is not a bank – it’s a pri-
vately owned high-tech vault that uses
robotics to dispense safe deposit boxes
to its customers 24 hours per day, seven
days a week.
“We aim to provide authentic se-
curity storage for discerning clients. As
the facility at 268 Orchard is designed
for 24-hour access, our clients enjoy
convenience. Being able to access their
things at any time of the day when the
need arises is an added bonus,” said
Kang.
Kang said that while the concept
of non-bank safe deposit box centres
is new to Singapore, it has been around
in Europe for almost 20 years. Back in
2009, Kang came across it during her
travels and recognized its potential. De-
termined to emulate its success in Sin-
gapore, Kang set out to turn her vision
into a reality.
Careful planning and preparatiOn
It’s no accident that Kang chose
268 Orchard Road to open the facility.
Not only was it centrally located, the
demolition of the Yen San building meant
that Kang, in a joint venture with Ngee
Ann Development Pte. Ltd. was able to
plan, design and build all the necessary
security features from the ground up.
After conducting feasibility stud-
ies, attending countless meetings with
the architect and engineers, sourcing
the technology and making cautious
progress, Vault@268 was officially
launched in 2015. Despite all this, Kang
said that one of the biggest challenges is
awareness.
“This is first of its kind in Singapore.
Many cannot shake off the idea of a bank
attendant walking with you through the
rows of other people’s boxes and access
through a dual key system,” said Kang.
hOw it wOrKs There are four levels of security; a radio frequency identification (RFID) access card, a password, a biometric face scan and a key.
The access card and biomet-ric security are used to get through Vault@268’s front doors, into the dis-pensing room and then to activate the kiosk. Unlike a bank’s safe deposit vault, there is no wall of boxes – just a kiosk and dispenser – and no attendant. The glass door that was transparent when the client entered the room, proceeds to frost up and turns opaque when the client activates the kiosk, providing fur-ther privacy.
Once activated, clients are prompted to type in their password on the touch screen. If all the IDs match up, the steel hatch opens and the cli-ent uses a key to open the safe deposit box, which cannot be taken out.
Once the client has retrieved their passport, deed or grandmother’s jewel-lery, the hatch is shut, the box retracts and is automatically returned to the vault.
The boxes come in two sizes, start-ing at S$888 per year for the smallest and S$1,388 a year for larger ones. Clients who are worried about what will happen to their box in the event of their death can rest assured;
Vault@268 also offers complimentary
will custodian service. Clients can leave
instructions through a separate applica-
tion. Alternatively, clients may arrange
to add a co-renter before or anytime
during the occupancy of their boxes.
“We work closely with financial
institutions, fiduciary services, lawyers,
will writers, etc. Will writers refer cli-
ents who require storage of original will
as well as valuables,” confirmed Kang.
As for insurance, Kang noted: “Un-
fortunately, there is no insurance in
Singapore to insure the content in the
boxes. However we have found that you
may apply for home insurance and buy a
rider for the contents in a safe deposit
box stored off site. A declaration of the
contents is required, as well as the esti-
mated value of each item on the list.”
sOphistiCated seCurity and stOrage The safe deposit boxes are housed
within a vault with 6 sided eight-inch
thick reinforced concrete walls that is
Grade VIII, ECB certified and supported
by European Security Systems Associa-
tion (ESSA). ESSA is an International Se-
curity Association that awards certifica-
tion of maximum security according to
European and International standards.
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“We have been working on achiev-
ing ISO 9001:2008. We have achieved
the status as of 1st March 2016,” added
Kang.
“The vault door stays locked at all
times,” Kang continued. “The common
traditional safe deposit box facilities are
normal rooms housing rows and rows of
locked shelves secured by a vault door.
The vulnerability lies when the vault
doors stay open and as we have learnt
from Hatton Garden vault robbery, the
fragile boundary walls,” added Kang, ref-
erencing the 2015 safe deposit burglary
in the U.K., in which the burglars made
off with £14 million until they were fi-
nally apprehended later that year.
The company’s vault walls, on the
other hand, are so impenetrable that
it would take weeks to drill through it.
Moreover, Kang has planned for every
contingency; from CCTV cameras that
cover every angle of the facility, to the
layers of military grade security fea-
tures that protect the vault itself.
“Planning the layers of passive and
active security features was the best
part of the business,” said Kang. “That’s
why something like the Hatton Garden
robbery would never happen here,” she
claimed, proudly.
Kang believes that so far she has
achieved the right mix between technol-
ogy and security. “We needed to work
with the feasibility of implementation.
Security within the facilities needs to
provide flexibility while providing ease
of access. The military and security ad-
vancements available are astounding,
however, some newer options are not
stable at the time of deployment while
others are not user friendly,” explained
Kang.
Kang has gone to extreme lengths
to ensure not just the protection of cli-
ents’ valuables, but also the optimum
storage environment for them. “Our
unique clients have special needs for
their prized possessions. We are able to
work with 268 Orchard to attain those
requirements, for example humidity and
temperature.”
According to Kang, these special
conditions were necessary to meet the
needs of Vault@268’s elite clientele.
“Lawyers and fiduciary services who
deal with trusts and posterity planning,
bankers and their clients frequent our
facility as an alternative to long waiting
lists of the local safe deposit branches,”
she added.
Building lasting suCCess Kang attributes Vault@268’s suc-
cess to a few key elements: patience,
planning and client feedback. “Seeing
the planning and precautionary ap-
proach saving the day, is most satisfy-
ing. I have not the foresight to predict
everything, but given ample time, the
present offers clues and hints on its di-
rection. Vault@268 steps into the fu-
ture evolving with our clients’ needs,
successfully providing client focus im-
provements and enhanced user experi-
ence.”
According to Kang, it is not enough
for a company to just offer the product,
which is standalone military grade stor-
age. Kang and her team and have worked
hard to add value to the product by add-
ing layers of access, security and office
management systems.
As for the company’s future, Kang
said that at the moment Vault@268 is
focusing on making sure Vault@268
sustains its success. Although this has
not stopped various developers from
approaching the company for possi-
ble joint ventures. “Right now we are
only pursuing at consultancy level,” said
Kang.