The banking associations AEB, CECA and Unacc have signed a collaboration agreement with Correos to facilitate cash withdrawals and improve access to basic financial services in rural areas throughout the country.
The signatories of the General Protocol of Action to promote financial inclusion in rural areas aim for all citizens, regardless of where they live, to have access to cash with as little travel as possible.
The agreement, signed this morning by the President of Correos, Juan Manuel Serrano; the President of AEB, Alejandra Kindelán; the Director General of CECA, José María Méndez; and the President of UNACC, Manuel Ruiz, provides for the development of new solutions to achieve broader coverage of banking services throughout Spain.
According to Alejandra Kindelán, “we have been exploring solutions for months, and today we are taking a significant step forward within the roadmap the sector is developing to respond to the needs of those who live in the small municipalities across our country, especially those who are furthest removed from the technological reality”.
At the meeting, José María Méndez, Director General of CECA, stated: “the agreement we are signing here today complements existing ways of accessing cash, reaching those 600,000 people who are not covered by the access points already in place. Through a universal service such as the postal service, we are expanding the coverage of physical access points to our financial services. This is an innovative action within the overall response that the banking sector is providing to the problem of depopulation, which affects the provision of all kinds of services”.
In his speech, the President of Unacc noted that “the banking associations’ commitment to financial inclusion has led us to work on finding different solutions that provide physical coverage where the network of branches, ATMs, agents and mobile offices does not reach”.
Juan Manuel Serrano, for his part, noted that with this collaboration “Correos makes available to the banking sector not only its extensive network of offices and service points, but also its 6,000 rural postmen to facilitate access to cash across Spain, thereby guaranteeing the public service for all citizens and contributing to territorial cohesion and the economic development of individuals and businesses, especially in rural areas”.
Aware of the concern in certain parts of rural Spain about the difficulty of withdrawing cash, the three associations offer their member institutions the possibility of reaching agreements with Correos to provide access solutions for citizens living in these areas.
Correos makes its extensive distribution network available to the banking sector throughout Spain. In this way, customers of all banks operating in our country will have the option of accessing Correos Cash services, which include cash withdrawals and deposits at the company’s 4,675 citizen service points, including more than 2,300 offices and a further 2,282 rural services.
In addition, through its 6,000 rural postmen, who are equipped with electronic devices (PDAs), it is possible to access cash at the doorstep and carry out other transactions provided at Correos offices, also in all municipalities in rural Spain, no matter how small, by taking advantage of the postman’s visit. The postman also provides personal assistance without the bank customer needing to have the means or technological knowledge.
This General Protocol of Action in rural areas reflects the banking associations’ willingness to help accelerate progress towards an inclusive economy and to ensure that no group is left without support—an undertaking already set out in point 5 of the Strategic Protocol to strengthen the banking sector’s social and sustainable commitment, updated in February 2022.
It also forms part of Correos’ strategy to bring services closer to citizens, offer new solutions that make day-to-day life easier, and consolidate its role in rural areas as a useful instrument to contribute to economic development, the fight against depopulation and the promotion of financial inclusion.
