Service initiatives
Comparing current accounts
On the PattiChiari website “www.pattichiari.it”, the “Comparing current accounts” initiative allows clients to compare current account products. Thanks to standard data sheets one can put side by side contents and costs of the current accounts offered by banks according to different consumption profiles of costumers (linked to different targets: young people, families, retired people). The standard data sheet also presents the price of the product with icons representing the services included in the current account fees. All data is consistent and updated in real-time.
On the PattiChiari website the characteristics and prices of over 700 current account products offered by 81 banks at 22,628 branches are represented: this is the largest comparison engine for current accounts in Europe today. Since the initiative was launched in 2004, there are three times as many products to compare, and 6.3 million comparisons have been made. During the last four years, the average price of products has decreased by over 28%. 79% of the users who answered the online survey consider our “Comparing Current Accounts” initiative either “very” or “sufficiently” useful
• Comparison tools >>
• A practical guide >>
FARO
At any time with Faro, clients can find the closest working ATM machine, according to certified operating standards. With the aid of new technologies, consumers, either by phone, text messages, or online, can monitor and find out in real-time and free of charge where the closest ATM machine is, as well as get directions to it by the shortest route, either on foot or by car.
Faro allowed the average service level of the ATM machines to increase up to 97.6% (data collected in August 2009). Since 2003, participant banks raised the level of ATM services from 93.2% to 97.6%. The difference between the level of service offered by the 91 banks that took part in the initiative (over 70% of national branches) compared to non-participants was calculated as 13 percentage points, which indicate the effective advantage coming from this self regulatory initiative.
Check availability
Thanks to the “Cheque/Check clearance” initiative, clients, using the tables published on the PattiChiari website, can easily find out and compare check clearance times for bank checks and bank drafts, i.e. the time necessary for sums deposited with checks to become available on their bank account. Clients can therefore have the opportunity of choosing the fastest bank.
Thanks to this initiative, 5 million clients have received an information guide, and above all, average availability times for checks has significantly decreased (for bank checks by almost one working day). From March 2004 to August 2009 online comparisons on the PattiChiari website were over 1.2 million.
Basic banking service
In order to promote financial inclusion, PattiChiari launched a very simple product accessible for ease-of-use and low cost, called “Basic banking service”. This service is specifically featured for those who still do not hold a current account with a bank, from very young to retired people. The “Basic banking service” offers clients a set of essential instruments and services: ATM card, salary or retirement pension deposit, direct debit, bank transfers, information on balance and transactions, and access to simple investment plans.
This product today is available at over 21,827 branches at an average monthly price of 2.9 Euros (56 yearly transactions); 77% of the products offered cost less than 3.5 Euros per month. Since January 2004, when the initiative was launched, the number of banks that decided to offer this product has increased from 40 to 65. 17% of the approximately 50,000 Basic banking service subscribers are foreigners, with almost half of these from Albania, Romania and Morocco. 21% are young people between 18 and 30 years of age (+7 percentage points compared to current account holders of the same-age).
• Basic banking service >>
• A practical guide >>
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Switching bank accounts - Cambio conto -
To explain how to close a current account and switch all services to a new one, PattiChiari created an initiative that provides clients with clear information and simple tools. Consumers not only receive a guide explaining the procedure necessary for closing a current account and other useful information, but they also have immediate access to the list of all services connected to current account, in order to monitor them and to ease switching. In addition, every six months, an automatic closure time monitoring process is activated in order to inform clients of average times needed for switching bank accounts and allowing the process to be more efficient. Moreover, clients can take advantage of direct debit portability handled through automatic procedure. This solution ensures debit continuity when direct debit positions (RID) moving on from an account to the other.
Since February 2007, direct debit mandate transfers were 2.3 million, in other words approximately 22 million direct debit collections. The percentage of successful direct debit mandate switching was 98.9%. According to data collected in June 2009, the average time for closing a bank account in Italy are between 6 working days
• Italian approach to customer mobility >>
• How to change your bank account >>
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Credit initiatives
Thanks to the “Average response times to SME loan applications” initiative, clients can be informed in advance and can easily compare the average response time for banks to reply to loan applications. Data is classified by region and by amount. Clients can compare different bank response times on the PattiChiari website. In addition, clients will find the list of all documents required in order to file a loan application, and they will be directly informed of the name of the staff person, or office, they will need to contact for performing the request.
Average response times
Carrying out assessments at counters, as well as releasing information enabling clients to compare average times, allowed banks, through comprehensive monitoring, to shorten the times needed to supply loans. With regard to the 53 banks (for a total of over 18.000 branches) that took part in the initiative, results showed that: average response times for loan applications up to 25.000 Euros went from 9 to 7.7 working days, while for applications between 25,001 Euros and 100,000 Euros from 12 to 9.7 working days, and for amounts between 100.001 Euros and 500.000 Euros from 14 to 13 working days. From June 2004 to August 2009, web users performed 1.1 million online comparisons.
70% of users who answered the online survey consider “Average response times for loans” initiative either “very” or “sufficiently” useful.
General criteria for SME creditworthiness
PattiChiari promoted the creation of a simplified, standard business plan; an instrument to help SMEs to understand the assessment variables and criteria used by banks in the evaluation of loan applications and to guide clients through a self-analysis process with the aim of determining the economic and financial compatibility of their choices.
As of December 2003, entrepreneurs are aware of and can easily understand the main variables in the evaluation of corporate financial situations and the assessment variables and criteria used by banks in the evaluation for SME loan application. This initiative allows the creation of a common basis for dialogue between banks and enterprises on investment choices. It encourages the use of a simplified, standard business plan for presenting in a professional way corporate projects and plans for development to banks. 5.2 million copies of the simplified, standard business plan were distributed to SMEs at the counters.
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