Financial Inclusion in the Digital Era

The banking sector continues to work on improving the attention and service it provides to the elderly, both in person and digitally. This is explained by Julián, the protagonist of the new initiative from the CECA sector.

Digitalization brings significant advantages for both users and providers of digital services. For users, it offers the opportunity to access a greater variety of products and services efficiently, conveniently, and effectively; on the other hand, it allows providers to enhance customer experience, expand their market, and improve operational efficiency. However, digitalization also incurs costs in terms of the digital divide for citizens who lack the necessary digital skills.

Making a transfer, completing a procedure, sending a Bizum, or paying with a card are actions that a large part of society is already familiar with. However, there are groups that find it more difficult to adapt to the digital world, particularly older adults, who often require additional time to navigate this change. This is a widespread challenge in all current societies, affecting various sectors, not only banking, and it requires an integrated response from public authorities in collaboration with the private sector wherever possible.

The banking sector is well aware that older people represent a demographic that underpins society, making valuable contributions to the well-being of their family and social environment. For this reason, it continues to work on improving the attention and service provided to this group, both personally and digitally.



“Banking Across Generations”

One of the most significant challenges facing the Spanish banking sector is ensuring that the financial digitalization process is inclusive. It is crucial for less digitally savvy groups, such as the elderly, to acquire skills in this area for managing their finances. This is regardless of whether other concrete measures are taken, such as promoting mobile offices, establishing financial agents, or providing specialized telephone support services.

In this new video, Julián reunites with his granddaughter María, a bank employee, and we see that despite the generational gap, they both speak the same language. The two protagonists find themselves within the new paradigm defined by digitalization: the grandfather has progressively adapted to the new tools and channels, taking advantage of the services that banking offers through these means, and his granddaughter supports him throughout this process.

This is the second installment of “Banking Across Generations,” the new initiative that the CECA sector – CaixaBank, Kutxabank, Cajasur Banco, Abanca, Unicaja Banco, Ibercaja Banco, Caixa Ontinyent, Colonya Pollença, and Cecabank – has launched to review the evolution of the banking sector in recent years in order to adapt to digital transformation and meet the needs of its clients, with special focus on the senior demographic.

The Financial Digitalization of Senior Clients

We live in a world moving on the wave of transformation. An ocean that requires individuals to adapt continuously, demanding an incessant capacity for learning to acquire the necessary skills that allow them to navigate their environment. In line with this, “the EU’s goal for 2030 is for 80% of adults to have basic digital skills, whereas currently 42% of Europeans lack them,” according to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) from the European Commission.

The Funcas study Report on the Spanish Banking Sector in a Changing Productivity Environment, published in 2021, explains that the pandemic has intensified how citizens manage their finances and prompted new habits among consumers based on digitalization. Since the outbreak of the health crisis, the process of financial digitalization has accelerated especially among the elderly population. The percentage of senior digital clients increased by 27.7%, becoming the age group that has seen the most significant rise in digitalization levels. Furthermore, the existing digital financial divide by age has reduced: 52.2% of internet users over the age of 65 regularly use online banking. Consequently, credit institutions continue to implement measures to improve and facilitate the user experience for this group in digital channels, while also striving to provide quality service tailored to the needs of older adults who choose to visit the office.

The Banking Sector’s Commitment to Financial Inclusion

The Spanish banking system possesses the second largest branch network in the entire European Union, surpassed only by France. In Spain, 98% of adults have a bank account, according to the World Bank, and 98.6% live in a municipality with access to banking services, according to the Report on Financial Inclusion in Spain from IVIE, with the aim of achieving 100% financial inclusion for the population.

The commitment of CECA member institutions to financial inclusion is both continuous and a priority. In order to accelerate progress towards an inclusive economy, the CECA sector has been developing a wide range of measures for years, especially in rural areas and for those groups at risk of exclusion. Extending face-to-face service hours, preferential treatment for the elderly in branches, telephone support with a personal representative, and offering financial and digital education initiatives are some of the actions taken to advance personalized attention for providing financial services to the senior demographic and those with different abilities.