Under pressure from a campaign by a 78-year-old pensioner against financial exclusion of elderly people in the digital age, Spanish banks have agreed to extend cashier services and provide better customer care, the government said.
Many among Spain's more than nine million over-65s, or almost 20% of the total population, have struggled to manage their finances since bank branches started vanishing from the high street and going digital instead.
"From now on, elderly people who go to a bank branch will receive this personal, preferential approach with extended cashier service, which is what they were asking us to provide," Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said, explaining details of a deal reached with Spanish banking associations.
Her ministry had pressed the sector to tackle the issue in the past few weeks, spurred by a two-month-long campaign by retired urologist Carlos San Juan dubbed "I'm old, not an idiot".