Credit institutions have made a significant effort to communicate and provide information on the measures introduced over the past year and a half to improve personalised service for older people. They are now reinforcing this work by distributing information leaflets across their branch networks and digital channels, clearly detailing each of the measures adopted, so that all users are better informed.
Improving banking service is an ongoing commitment of the banking sector. For the senior population, this is also reflected in the ten-point set of measures to strengthen personalised service for older people and people with disabilities, agreed by the main banking associations AEB, CECA and UNACC in February 2022.
These measures focus on four pillars: extending branch opening hours, priority service, personalised telephone service, adapting apps and digital channels, and promoting financial and digital education for older people. In addition, there is a commitment that any customer over the age of 65 who has a passbook can keep it.
The sector is working intensively to implement these measures and reports on the results promptly and with full transparency every six months. The latest monitoring report confirms improvements in service for older people after the first year the agreement has been in force.
In just one year, the number of branches with extended opening hours has doubled, benefiting 6.3 million people over the age of 65. In addition, 2.4 million phone calls have been handled and 80% of digital platforms have been adapted. Training has also been expanded for 70,000 employees to serve this group, and training programmes aimed at older people have been delivered, with more than 245,000 participants.
Alongside these advances, new initiatives have been carried out, such as a study on how the banking sector serves older people. Based on extensive fieldwork and customer surveys, it concludes that more than 70% of people over the age of 65 are satisfied with the banking service they receive. The most highly valued aspect is the personal manager (81.1%), followed by mobile banking (75.6%), online banking (74.7%), the ATM (73.2%) and the branch (71.6%).
The banking sector’s commitments set out in the Protocol signed in 2021 are the ongoing improvement of service for all customers, especially the senior population, strengthening financial inclusion, and contributing to the wellbeing of society as a whole.
View the leaflet here.
