Banking assistance

Banks ensure that basic banking services and cash withdrawals are safe and accessible. They make banking as easy as possible and offer customers a choice in how they conduct their daily banking affairs. With ‘help nearby’, our members are there for customers who need a little help and for the people who help them.

For people who find banking difficult, there is no single simple solution. They have different needs and wishes. Moreover, it often involves more than just banking. Everything in society is becoming increasingly digital. That is why banks are working together, with each other and with social organizations.

Help for customers

Each bank organizes help for its customers in a way that fits its brand; for example, in branches and stores, at service points, through advisors who visit customers, by telephone, and with help videos, websites, and courses. Banks publicize this help through their own channels and through partners and other channels that effectively reach the target groups.

In addition to all the banks’ websites, there is a joint website www.bankinformatiepunt.nl (in Dutch). This website is for anyone who has difficulty with banking matters and for anyone who helps others with this. The website contains explanations, step-by-step plans for everyday banking matters, telephone numbers of banks, educational opportunities, and a calendar of information meetings and courses.

Projects

People’s questions are often not just about banking matters, but about something they want or need to do. Such as booking a train journey, applying for a benefit, or using a smartphone. It is therefore helpful to have someone who can assist with all these matters and knows where to go if you need more help.

As part of the Accessible Banking (in Dutch) program, we are working together to organize help in the neighborhood. Together, we organize meetings, support helpers, and explain the help that banks and Geldmaat offer. Interest groups help to effectively disseminate information about help with banking matters through local support networks.

Projects have been set up for this purpose and are being rolled out in more and more areas. These projects involve providing information, general assistance, and referrals to the right place at a bank for specific individual assistance. We are raising awareness of this through advertisements in nation wide publications and regional magazines, for example. The Bank Information Days during Digital Participation Week also devote a lot of attention to this.

Collaboration, at least until 2030

ABN AMRO, ING, Rabobank, ASN Bank, and Geldmaat will continue to collaborate with interest groups representing vulnerable groups until at least 2030. Together, they look at what really helps people, organize banking lessons, and ensure that people know the phone numbers where they can get help. The goal is for the collective ‘Hulp Dichtbij’ (Help Close By) to be fully established by 2030 and to be able to continue independently from then on.

Banks and Geldmaat ensure that basic banking services and cash withdrawals are safe and accessible. Through cooperation, everyone can find help in their neighborhood.