The banking sector agrees to a new framework of commitments on service in rural areas, with solutions in municipalities without face-to-face access to financial services, or with only a single access point, with strict respect for competition rules
This new roadmap, developed in coordination with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, also establishes mechanisms to monitor compliance with the commitments undertaken and to provide updated information
MADRID. Friday, 7 October 2022. The Spanish Banking Association (AEB), CECA and the National Union of Credit Cooperatives (UNACC) unveiled today a roadmap to reinforce financial inclusion in rural areas, with the aim of ensuring an adequate provision of face-to-face financial services for 100% of Spanish territory. The agreement, tabled this morning at the meeting with the First Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, updates and reinforces the social and sustainable commitment of the banking sector.
The proposed measures seek to improve financial inclusion and address the problems arising from depopulation, which are transversal in nature and affect large parts of the country. For this reason, the proposal is put forth that the implementation of the planned actions be undertaken within a broad framework of public-private collaboration, under the same premises and objectives, in order to find the most efficient solutions to the heterogeneity of the casuistry in the rural environment in Spain.
In this regard, the financial sector is reinforcing financial inclusion in these areas and has worked in coordination with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation to agree on a new framework of commitments to rural Spain that will be structured with full respect for competition law and will be notified to the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission. The aim is to ensure face-to-face access to financial services in all Spanish municipalities, giving priority to those that currently do not have any or only have one face-to-face access point. This roadmap achieves full financial inclusion by providing a physical access point to banking services in municipalities that have never previously had such access.
Thus, in those municipalities where there is no face-to-face access point to financial services, the commitment is undertaken to ensure service through a bank branch, an ATM, a mobile branch and a financial agent in municipalities with more than 500 inhabitants. In addition, cashback or cash-in-shop solutions for cash withdrawals via state-of-the-art point-of-sale terminals (POS) are offered in municipalities with less than 500 inhabitants, so that they can even increase their capabilities in the medium term and provide access to a wider range of services. In addition, the rural postal service is offered, through the Correos Cash service, under the terms of the collaboration agreement that AEB, CECA and Unacc signed with the Spanish Postal Service on 20 July, and to which seven institutions have so far adhered.
On the other hand, in municipalities with a single point of access to financial services, banks will do their utmost to maintain them. If this is not possible, it will be referred to the Financial Inclusion Observatory for inclusion in the annual diagnosis and in the objectives developed as part of this roadmap.
These actions will be complemented by the telephone and online banking services developed by financial institutions to serve those customer segments that prefer digital applications, to which end the three banking associations have been promoting the financial and digital skills of the entire population for years.
The information on accessibility to financial services in Spanish municipalities is based on the "Report on financial inclusion in Spain", prepared by the IVIE (Valencian Institute of Economic Research) and presented by the banking associations in July this year, which puts the percentage of the population without access to a banking service point at 1.4%. The data for municipalities with over 500 inhabitants without accessibility will be published as an Annex to the aforementioned report on financial inclusion, and the lists will be updated annually from the data provided by the banks.
To facilitate the updating and monitoring work, the mailbox consultas@observatorioinclusionfinanciera.es, within the framework of the Financial Inclusion Observatory, will be made available to local entities as of Monday 17 October, so that they can request information, clarify doubts, submit requests and communicate inaccuracies or necessary corrections to this list.