Mobile Offices on Wheels for Residents of Nieva to Continue Collecting Their Pensions

This small municipality in Segovia is one of the towns served by the ofibus, a mobile branch that provides service to the depopulated Spain and includes all the services we regularly use, from dispensing or depositing cash to conducting banking operations, applying for a loan, or signing policies.

Living in a small town is synonymous with tranquility, being in contact with nature, and personally knowing a large part of the neighbors who share special bonds despite the exodus of recent years. However, it is also a rough life with limitations in access to basic services. This is the reality encompassing ‘Spain emptied out.’ A term tied to the inland territories of regions such as Castilla y León, Extremadura, Aragón, or La Rioja. Places with charm where many are missing, like a restaurant or a fruit shop. In fact, many of these businesses crowd into vans and trucks, which the neighbors eagerly await to buy the products they need, from bread, fruit, or meat. And, for some time now, their finances as well.

As a response to an existing need in these small municipalities, banking entities have launched a fleet of mobile offices to serve residents. They have made a notable effort to maintain their activities in these municipalities by developing financial services designed and adapted even to the financial level of the inhabitants of the smallest towns, typically elderly individuals who do not even have a mobile phone.

Thanks to these rolling offices, banking has reached (on wheels) the towns in the interior of the national territory. The initiative, promoted by the Association of Savings Banks and Banks created by them (CECA), allows for the maintenance of a branch in these locations that includes all the necessary services for clients, from dispensing or depositing cash, conducting banking operations, applying for a loan, or signing policies. Countless opportunities are available to all residents, allowing for a more comfortable life. An example of this can be found in Nieva, a livestock municipality belonging to the Segovian countryside (Castilla y León) where only about 265 people reside, according to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics. A small census, like so many others in Spain, that requires money to purchase the items needed by its residents.

Whenever one of these mobile offices stops in the locality, it is a day of celebration for the neighbors. In the midst of a sea of pine trees, one of these ofibuses visits twice a month. Citizens can then manage their finances, but it is a faithful reflection of a situation that Spain has been experiencing for a long time. “Depopulation is a demographic phenomenon, especially intense in our country, that ultimately leads to the disappearance of basic services due to an unstoppable exodus of clients. Banking is part affected by this situation, but nevertheless, the sector’s commitment is to continue serving isolated populations in emptied Spain by developing alternative service channels such as mobile offices or a specific network of financial agents for rural areas, while also reaching agreements with non-banking agents to dispense cash,” states Alberto Aza, CECA’s spokesperson.

Digitalization has created a need for users in these towns. The digital transformation of society is an unquestionable fact that has brought enormous benefits to society, but has also created a significant generational gap. Its main victims are elderly individuals. Many of them reside in such small populations, adding more problems to their equation. “Not having a commercial office in one’s municipality of residence does not equate to financial exclusion. With digitalization, you can operate with the bank,” adds Alberto Aza, while acknowledging that most residents in these small municipalities are even unfamiliar with how a smartphone works, which means that from these rolling offices they can even pay their bills and withdraw cash as they are used to doing.

María Luisa Gorgojo is, in addition to being mayor of Nieva since 2007, a user of this type of banking service. “It is a very comfortable town where we have always had all services, but now we are losing many things because there are fewer residents in recent years,” she adds. Until this year – she recalls – there was an educational center that had to close as it did not meet the required student ratio for its opening. In recent years, she has witnessed firsthand how many services and businesses in her locality were closing due to a lack of clientele or the retirement of their owners. An unstoppable phenomenon.

But this same situation has also repeated itself with banking offices. There are towns without a physical branch. Residents of Nieva, for example, had to travel until recently to neighboring towns like Santa María la Real de Nieva or Navas de la Asunción, 3 and 10 kilometers away, respectively, just to withdraw cash. For this, they had to come up with countless possible solutions, such as asking other neighbors who did have their own transport for help. “In towns, there are many elderly people who do not drive or have retired and do not own a car,” admits the mayor, who applauds the mobile office service. “It is a sensational project because it allows people to handle any financial management, even updating their pension book. The elderly are delighted because it allows them not to have to ask for help, and they can come by themselves.”

The service is backed by financial entities such as CaixaBank, Abanca, Kutxabank, Ibercaja Banco, and Unicaja Banco. All of them serve about 456,590 clients living in small municipalities. Pablo Gómez Ortega, area business director of CaixaBank Segovia Centro Sur, believes that one of the most important strategies of this mobile office service is to provide coverage in rural areas. “What we are trying to do is reach as many municipalities as possible to have the greatest penetration and fulfill our commitment to financial inclusion in the rural environment at a national level,” he states.

Pablo Gómez Ortega recalls with emotion the first time he informed the authorities of a municipality that the ofibus service was being launched. It was in Burgos, where it is present in 37 localities. “When the project emerged, our greatest concern was to ensure that no municipality was left without access to a financial entity’s coverage. We spoke with all the town halls where we were located, and they were all accommodating, even helping us find the best locations in the town to ensure they were completely accessible to all citizens,” he adds.

The arrival of the ofibus in the town is a social event because many people gather here at once and engage in conversation, sharing what has happened throughout the week and having the opportunity to catch up. It is a highly anticipated day for residents. “It is pleasant to go out and see them talking to each other and sharing what has happened during the week. And thus, at least they spend a pleasant time together. Here they sit on the benches in the square. It is a more personal interaction,” Gorgojo adds. “Never – says Gómez Ortega – have we had any problems; on the contrary. The ofibus is a service that the town needs, and we were determined to provide it. The experience was, and I had the opportunity to experience it firsthand, wonderful.” In his opinion, it is “another way to give back to society this part of the financial business that is so important to us.”

As a commercial for one of the ofibuses, the work of Carlos Plaza is essential, as he is the visible face of financial entities to their clients in these depopulated areas. He is undoubtedly the person who assists users and listens to them. He sometimes even acts as a psychologist, which is why he acknowledges having a certain empathy. In his case, he travels to 44 municipalities in Castilla y León filled with personal stories that leave a mark. “It is mainly a relationship with elderly people, 70 years and older. It must be a close and friendly approach, using language they can understand,” he assures.

“The ofibus gives a lot of freedom to people. Elderly people hardly ever drive. The services available in towns are very limited, and they need cash to pay for goods, which often come even in trucks like those of fruit vendors,” he explains. “You can’t talk to them in the same way as to young people, who have a greater financial culture. You must simplify it as much as possible.” Thanks to these mobile teams, undoubtedly, these areas are structured where life flows through rivers of tranquility.