Financial institutions have been adjusting their care policies for the elderly for months, following the “I’m older, not an idiot” campaign, which questioned the sector’s care model for pensioners, retirees and the elderly. Bank digitization strategies and the elimination of physical items such as passbooks or the offices themselves were making access difficult for this group, but they have gradually achieved a series of rights, which are now included in a single list.
Thus, the Platform for the Elderly and Pensioners (PMP) has launched a decalogue for elderly banking users and pensioners in Spain. It includes the rights that they should know and “thus avoid the existing deficiencies in terms of attention to this group by financial institutions,” explains the organization. Firstly, collect the text, it is essential to identify yourself to the bank as over 65 years of age, so that, secondly, the Bank’s Senior Care Protocol in force at the entity can be applied to you and, if it does not exist , you will have the right to claim it.
Another important aspect that this customer segment should keep in mind is their right to receive preferential treatment in branches, that is, the decalogue recognizes that they should receive priority attention at times of high influence. In addition, the hours to attend, both in person and by telephone, must have a minimum: in person, the bank staff must attend the cashier services from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., since the PMP emphasizes that the client has no obligation have access to the internet or have a smartphone to operate with the bank. And, the service through calls, which must be preferential and provided without additional cost or directly and through a personal interlocutor, must be given at least between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. for those to whom services are provided without an office .
On the other hand, the PMP recalls that the demands should not be lowered and that employees must be trained to attend to the needs of pensioners. For this reason, the organization urges to reject that “the solution is that family or friends help you.” “The bank is obliged to facilitate operations for all its clients, adapted to their capacities and possibilities”, he recalls. Some measures that encourage all the elderly who do not want, or cannot, depend on a loved one. Finally, the decalogue emphasizes the obligation to guarantee adaptability, accessibility and simplicity in ATMs, making larger versions available to customers with simplified language and views.
Apart from these already guaranteed rights, the banks will have to abide by the Strategic Protocol to which they subscribed together with the Government to Reinforce the Social and Sustainable Commitment of the Bank, in order to promote financial inclusion, and through which the entities committed themselves to provide a better service to the elderly, less digitized or more vulnerable. In addition, from the PMP they recall that the Customer Service Law, which is currently in parliamentary proceedings, will regulate the right of consumers to obtain free, effective, accessible, inclusive attention from the companies that provide these services. , non-discriminatory and evaluable.
