Many residents of Catalonia are faced with the difficulty of not having any banking services in their municipality. This forces them to travel to perform operations as simple as withdrawing or depositing money. To solve this problem, the Generalitat de Catalunya has promoted a network of mobile banking offices that will provide personalized financial attention to the 503 municipalities in Catalonia that do not have an ATM. The mobile offices will be managed by Caixabank and Caixa Enginyers.
A service for 100% of the population
The mobile banking offices will start operating in September and aim to reach 100% of the Catalan population within a maximum period of nine months. Right now, 54% of municipalities in Catalonia do not have a bank branch. This means that more than 300,000 Catalans are at risk of financial exclusion, meaning that they cannot access financial services in their place of residence. The Minister of Economy and Finance, Natàlia Mas Guix, has affirmed that the project will guarantee financial inclusion throughout the territory, and “put an end to a situation that we consider unfair” so that “no one feels excluded due to residence, age , digital skills or economic resources”.
How will the service work?
The mobile banking service will be operational within a maximum period of nine months. CaixaBank will serve 503 municipalities, spread over 41 regions, while Caixa Enginyers will serve 313 municipalities, from 24 regions. The two entities will distribute the municipalities where they both operate, and will go there every fortnight in an alternative way. In towns where there is only one entity, they will go there once a month.
The Generalitat has awarded the contract for two years, with the possibility of extending it for another two years, and for an amount of 990,920 euros per year. The cost of the service will be borne by the Generalitat and the entities.
What will you be able to do in the mobile offices?
Mobile banking offices offer you all the services you can find in a conventional bank office: withdraw and deposit cash, direct payment of receipts and taxes to bank accounts; check movements and balance and obtain statements of bank accounts, among others. In addition, you will also receive personalized attention in the management of both accounts and other banking and financial products of assets, liabilities and intermediation.
Each entity must present a route proposal that ensures the visit of the mobile banking office one day a month in each municipality. In the case of towns with up to 250 inhabitants, the minimum stay time will be 30 minutes and, in those with more than 250 inhabitants, it cannot be less than an hour.
Regarding the service hours, they will be from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with an hour break for lunch, except on Fridays, when the service will end at 3:00 p.m. In the period from May 23 to September 30, the service will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Why is this service needed?
Since 2008, almost three out of four bank branches have closed in Catalonia, a total of 5,961. According to data from the Bank of Spain, fourteen years ago there were 8,155 branches and in 2022 this figure has dropped to 2,194. This is a general trend throughout Europe which, in the case of Catalonia, has been more pronounced. While the number of offices has decreased by 41% in the European Union and by 58% in the State, in Catalonia the reduction has been 73%.
Faced with this situation, councilor Natàlia Mas points out that the initiative to bring mobile bank offices to all municipalities is a clear commitment to territorial rebalancing, one of the Government’s priority axes. The head of Economy and Finance considers that the challenge as a Government and as a country is to ensure that any citizen can live a dignified life throughout the Catalan territory.
Town councils, an active role
Town councils will play an active role in the implementation of the mobile banking service. They will be responsible for determining the location, guaranteeing a power outlet, disseminating the service, collecting the incidents that occur and transferring them to those in charge and drawing up an annual report with the assessment of the quality of the service.
