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Long lines to cash stimulus & tax refund checks just get longer

Large crowd under tents in the parking lot of the Territorial Bank of American Samoa
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — This Samoa News photo taken Thursday morning shows a large crowd of customers waiting under a tent erected in the parking lot of the Territorial Bank of American Samoa at Utulei for their turn to enter the bank just after TBAS opened its doors at 8:30a.m. Police officers were observed controlling the crowd — those waiting and those entering the bank’s facility.

The bank set up the tents on Wednesday after long lines were formed at 6:30a.m on Tuesday as customers rushed to cash not only their stimulus checks but tax refund checks.

Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga over the weekend, directed Public Safety Department to send police officers to both TBAS and ANZ Amerika Samoa Bank to assist in controlling the large crowd of customers who received their stimulus checks.

A majority of local residents that received their checks since Tuesday gather at TBAS’ two branches because the ASG checking account for both stimulus and tax refund checks are drawn at TBAS. The bank has also extended its daily hours, as well as opening on Saturday to accommodate their customers.

A second round of stimulus and tax refunds checks are expected to be released next week. (See story in Saturday’s issue.)