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 900 current account products are represented. This is the largest comparison engine for current accounts in Europe today. Since the initiative was launched in 2004, there are four times as many products to compare, and 8.0 million comparisons have been made. During the last six years, the average price of products has decreased by over 30%. 79% of the users who answered the online survey consider our “Comparing Current Accounts” initiative either “very” or “sufficiently” useful.
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 >>