At the close of 2023, some 99.1% of the Spanish population have a physical point of access to financial services in their municipality. In addition, 81% of branches now have extended opening hours, which has benefited 6.5 million seniors over the age of 65, while 2.4 million have been assisted by telephone, free of charge and by a human operator, and 660,000 have received financial and digital training in 2023

The banking sector has stated that there are no financial inclusion problems in neighbourhoods. The capillarity of bank branches, the 83,000 customer service points and the array of communication channels offered by credit institutions, together with public transport infrastructure, guarantee access to banking services in Spanish cities

The evolution of the Strategic Protocol and its successive extensions is being measured through surveys conducted by independent entities, which show the progress made by the banking sector in relation to the personalised customer service provided to the elderly

The Spanish Banking Association (AEB), CECA and the National Union of Credit Cooperatives (Unacc) have held a monitoring meeting with the Minister of the Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, senior citizens' associations, consumer associations and, on this occasion, the Ombudsman, to assess the progress made by the banking sector in terms of financial inclusion, with improvements in access to banking services in all Spanish municipalities and personalised service to elderly customers and people with disabilities.

Specifically, the three associations have reported on the progress made in the implementation of the Roadmap to strengthen access to banking services in rural areas, agreed in October 2022, and have confirmed the improvements in accessibility in Spain. At the close of 2023, the population residing in a municipality without a physical banking access point stands at 0.9% (432,081 inhabitants), an improvement on the 1.4% recorded at the close of 2021.

Since the implementation by the sector of financial inclusion measures in rural areas, more than 225,000 citizens living in 555 municipalities now have a physical banking access point, as shown in the 'Report on Financial Inclusion in Spain 2023'. At the national level, Spain has the third-densest network of bank branches and offices in the European Union, and there are 83,000 access points to banking services.

The capillarity of bank branches and the other communication channels offered by credit institutions, together with public transport infrastructure, guarantee access to banking services in all municipalities and within cities throughout Spain, as this same capillarity and coverage ensure that there are no accessibility problems in any neighbourhood.

The ofibus formula has been particularly successful. Today these mobile branches provide financial services to 827 municipalities in which 180,623 people live. By the end of this year, this type of service will be extended to another 500 municipalities, bringing the total number of municipalities to over 1,500. The ofibus is a formula that is highly valued by customers in these types of municipalities because, compared to other solutions, personal contact with the sales agent gives them greater confidence and security.

In addition, AEB, CECA and Unacc highlighted the progress made in the implementation of measures to improve personalised customer service for seniors over the age of 65 and people with disabilities, agreed in February 2022. According to the 2023 Annual Report, 81% of branches have extended opening hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.), more than twice as many as initially, which has benefited 6.5 million seniors over the age of 65.

In addition, 2.4 million seniors over the age of 65 have received personalised telephone customer service, attended by a human operator and at no additional cost.  Furthermore, 93% of ATMs are adapted to the needs of these groups, with a very similar percentage of websites also adapted, and more than 60,000 employees have been trained to attend to the needs of the elderly, with almost 4,000 senior advisors present in branches.

In addition, the banking sector maintains the commitment acquired on 9 March 2023 to continue operating savings books accounts for our senior citizens. Financial institutions are fully aware of the value that a significant proportion of their customers place on this instrument, which is so deeply rooted in our financial culture, and maintaining this service for those who claim to be 'analogue' is yet another example of the banking industry's efforts to cater to the many and varied sensibilities of the population.

The banking sector has implemented, from the outset, the necessary measures to monitor their progress through surveys conducted by independent entities, such as the Inmark Group, which confirm the improvement in the personalised customer service provided to the elderly. In this regard, the banking associations point out that the government's initiative to promote a measurement of access to services should be extended to all types of public and private services in order to assess the situation.

At the same time, AEB, CECA and Unacc have also highlighted the progress made in the commitment to financial education, with 660,000 seniors over the age of 65 participating in financial literacy and digital skills training programmes in 2023.

The commitment to financial and digital education is also permanent following the launch of the ‘Aula Financiera y Digital’ (Financial and Digital Classroom) platform, which has recently added 90 new training initiatives, as well as including a new space dedicated to information and awareness of cybersecurity, with content in different formats to prevent cyber scams.

Also in this area, AEB, CECA and Unacc, together with ASNEF, have developed the campaign ‘Protect yourself, avoiding fraud is in your hands’, to raise awareness among citizens of the need to protect their data on digital platforms. This campaign has reached more than 6.9 million people in different formats and has generated more than 15.4 million impacts.

Finally, as an example of the efforts being undertaken by banks to improve the digital skills of their customers through different programmes, it is worth highlighting the data on the use of the Bizum instant payment platform, particularly among the elderly, with a growth of 50% over the past three years. Thus, at the close of 2023, some 55% of the elderly between the ages of 55 and 64, about 33% of those between the ages of 65 and 74, and 11% of those over the age of 75 use this service.