Technology exists to make our day-to-day lives easier, from booking medical appointments online, to shopping online or conducting any transaction with our bank through a mobile application.
Digitalisation has simplified many aspects of our day-to-day lives. Thanks to the use of new technologies, new payment methods and the digitalisation of financial services, customers can conduct business and execute transactions with their financial institution 24 hours a day and from anywhere.
In Spain, the use of online banking already exceeds the EU average and has become the preferred channel for customer service. Since 2020, the use of digital banking has increased by 14.8% in rural Spain and online banking users over the age of 65 increased by 28% during the coronavirus crisis.
This digital transformation has enabled customers to maintain direct contact with their financial institution via their mobile app. However, some groups, such as the elderly, have had to adapt to processes that are advancing faster than they are. The CECA sector (CaixaBank, Kutxabank and Cajasur Banco, Abanca, Unicaja Banco, Ibercaja Banco, Caixa Ontinyent, Colonya Pollença and Cecabank) is well aware that the elderly are a key social group who make valuable contributions to their family environment, enabling us to learn and improve as a society. This is why the "CECA entities" are constantly working to improve the attention and service it provides to this group, both in person and digitally. Alberto Aza, CECA spokesperson, stresses that: The essence of banking is to provide opportunities for progress throughout all stages of the customer's life. This service evolves according to the changing needs of families during all stages of their lives".
Innovation to improve financial inclusion
The banks that comprise the CECA sector invest up to €1,600 million each year in innovation, which has allowed them to make a broader range of digital products and services available to their customers. This has brought banking services closer to the population without geographical or time constraints and has improved customer service. "Banking across generations" addresses in its third video the progress experienced by digital banking in Spain in recent years, the result of new consumer habits based on digitalisation, thanks to the conversation between its two protagonists: Julián, the grandfather, and María, his granddaughter and bank employee.
In this vein, CECA, a member of the Internet Day Promotion Committee, supported the "Manifesto to facilitate access to and use of digital technologies by the elderly" in March 2022. Its goal is to achieve healthier ageing, highlighting the choice of digital technologies from a human perspective and taking into account the elderly in order to contribute to their empowerment as citizens, to their personal development and to improving their daily lives.
The CECA sector, the leading investor in financial education in Spain
The connection between financial literacy and the digital environment is essential to reinforce messages that help citizens manage their finances properly and securely, as reflected in different initiatives developed by the CECA sector. Among them, the Our Secure Data portal, which provides knowledge and trust in the field of data, privacy and online security. Financial institutions are particularly aware of the importance of cybersecurity, are committed to technology as a method of protecting their customers' data and remain at the forefront of security systems; and the Aula Financiera y Digital platform, an initiative of the banking sector, promoted by CECA, AEB and UNACC, to facilitate access to content, courses and programmes implemented by financial institutions in the field of financial and digital education, with the aim of making economic concepts more comprehensible and raising awareness with regard to online channels and procedures.
Indeed, promoting financial education and encouraging actions designed to bring it about is part of the DNA of the CECA sector, which also pools its efforts with public stakeholders by forming part of the National Financial Education Plan of the Bank of Spain and the CNMV with the aim of setting out a coordinated and effective roadmap for the financial literacy of the population. The figures speak for themselves: during the complex 2020-2021 period, CECA's member entities, the leading investors in financial education in Spain, allocated €4,298 million to promote, boost and improve financial education. Of the total investment, €3.025 million stem from the Funcas Educa Programme, promoted by CECA and Funcas for the fourth consecutive year. With this investment, a total of 7,918 activities were carried out. Looking at the last four years, these banks have allocated a total of €13.07 million to promote financial literacy, largely thanks to the drive provided by the 'Funcas Educa Programme' which, with an endowment of €10.97 million, has consolidated its position as the largest investment in financial education in Spain. We cannot forget that financial education is a key competence and that digital skills are currently an essential tool for all groups, especially for the most vulnerable.
