The essence of banking is to provide opportunities for progress throughout all stages of the customer's life. The banking association CECA explains the prominent role of the banking sector as an irreplaceable driver of social, cultural and economic development, especially for the most vulnerable groups.

Depopulation is a particularly rural demographic phenomenon and is especially intense in Spain. Over the last four decades, the country has experienced an economic and social revolution that has generated profound migratory movements from rural areas to large cities. However, Spain not only faces important demographic challenges, but also the challenge posed by the digital divide, which refers to the difference in access to and skills in the use of new technologies. Both demographic and technological challenges are having a major impact on the provision of all types of services: medical, pharmaceutical, educational, cultural, as well as banking. This is a reality experienced by the inhabitants of small municipalities in the interior of Spain, and where the elderly are among those most likely to be affected.

The Spanish banking system is no exception to this reality and for this reason it has the second-largest branch network in the European Union (5 branches for every 10,000 inhabitants). It is second only to France, with a presence in 97% of Spanish municipalities.

The commitment of the banking sector

Faced with the needs existing in these areas, "CECA entities" (CaixaBank, Kutxabank and Cajasur Banco, Abanca, Unicaja Banco, Ibercaja Banco, Caixa Ontinyent, Colonya Pollença and Cecabank) have been working together in their commitment to the emptied Spain with initiatives over the years to guarantee access for the entire population to basic financial services, including withdrawing cash, paying bills by direct debit or making deposits.

CECA's member entities have integrated the intergenerational perspective into their work, as large parts of the population in these enclaves are elderly people. This is why they offer specific training to ensure that managers provide specialised service to the elderly, as well as preferential attention to groups with the greatest difficulties in accessing their services, both in person and through digital channels, facilitating their experience as customers.

Addressing these demographic and technological challenges requires the engagement of different stakeholders. The banking sector has pooled its efforts, demonstrating the importance of defining public-private collaboration frameworks for the recovery of economic and social welfare, with special emphasis on various initiatives that improve financial inclusion in Spain.

Outstanding work in rural areas

The inhabitants of Spain's inland towns, particularly the smaller ones, need to be able to access cash, to have access to an ATM for basic transactions and to go to their credit institution's branch for more complex procedures.

Among the most noteworthy initiatives implemented by CECA's member entities to revitalise rural areas are the ofibuses, a fleet of mobile branches that travel to 600 municipalities where there is no bank branch and service 457,000 customers.

In addition, banks have made more innovative solutions available to customers so that they can access cash when needed. These include mechanisms such as cashback and cash-in-shop: users simply need to visit the nearest supermarket or petrol station and indicate the amount of money they want to receive in cash, which they can then pay by credit card along with their purchase.

In this way, the CECA sector is devising various measures, initiatives and resources to ensure that Spain's most isolated regions have access to banking services to help them pursue their professional and personal goals.

New intergenerational initiative

In order to publicise this array of specialised services, the CECA sector has promoted the initiative "Banking across generations", with the aim of raising awareness of the measures that its member entities implement to ensure the financial inclusion of everyone, leaving no one behind, with special attention to the most disadvantaged and the elderly.

The first video of the initiative addresses digitalisation, services to the elderly and customer service. Through a grandfather and his granddaughter, a bank employee, the evolution of the banking sector and its adaptation to the needs of different generations is shown. Both characters share their experiences with different financial services and, despite their age difference, manage to find common ground in their experiences. The aim of this informative action is to explain how banking offers opportunities for progress throughout all stages of a customer's life, and to showcase to the public the role of the banking sector as a driver of social, cultural and economic development, especially for the most vulnerable groups.