Spanish banks committed to expanding face-to-face service for elderly

The Spanish banking associations, in the presence of the First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs, Nadia Calviño, and the Governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernandez de Cos, have signed the update of their 'Strategic Protocol to Reinforce the Social and Sustainable Commitment of the Bank'.

According to a government press release, this update of the protocol includes "new measures to guarantee in-person attention to citizens, especially the elderly," so that they have banking services adapted to their needs.

The protocol includes a decalogue of measures to "guarantee" face-to-face and personal telephone service, improved access to ATMs, adequate training for the needs of this group and monitoring of the measures implemented.

The document includes the commitment of financial institutions to expand cashier services with face-to-face services for the elderly from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Also, the elderly and people with disabilities will have priority in cases of high influx of customers to bank offices.

"To guarantee the quality of the service, the employees of the entities will receive specific training that allows them to offer a more adjusted attention to the profile of the elderly," says the government in its press release.

Free telephone service

Banks also undertake to provide preferential telephone service, at no additional cost and through a personal interlocutor, for older customers.

The protocol is the result of the initiative of a retired doctor, Carlos San Juan, a critic of online banking, who launched an internet protest under the slogan 'I'm old, but I'm not an idiot.'

Just one day after the 78-year-old surpassed the 600,000 signature mark with his online petition, the first major financial institution reacted. Banco Santander, Spain's largest lender in terms of global total assets, announced that it would extend its teller opening hours for all customers by three hours.