Innovation: Zweite Sparkasse (Second Savings Bank)

Austria

AAI Domains:

• Independent, healthy and secure living (financial security)

• Participation in society (voluntary activity)

It is almost an essential part of everyday life to have a bank account for financial transactions and not having one is an indicator of financial and social exclusion. There are many reasons why people do not have a bank account including debt problems, divorce or health issues and while it is possible to live without one, it makes day to day life easier to manage. There were estimated to be 40,000 people in Austria without a bank account in the mid-2000s and although this was comfortably less than 1% of all adults over the age of 18 years, it represented a considerable barrier that could hinder living well.

In 2006 the large Austrian bank and financial services group, Erste Bank, through its charitable Erste Foundation committed itself to addressing this issue of financial exclusion by established the Zweite Sparkasse (Second Savings Bank) in Vienna as a bank for people without a bank. Working in partnership with welfare agencies and debt counselling services, Second Savings Bank began by offering a basic bank account without an overdraft facility to people who did not have a bank account and to small charitable and community organisations who needed a free and simple account.

The first branch opened in Vienna in 2006 and was operated on an entirely voluntary basis by current and recently retired Erste Bank staff with further branches opening in 2007 in Innsbruck and Salzburg. After a little over a year of operation, the Second Savings Bank had more than 1,300 customers with over 1,800 accounts.

One of the aims of the Bank is to move people from being a customer with them to a mainstream financial institution so it was encouraging that by the end of 2011 it had branches in more than half a dozen locations across Austria and was pleased to note that while more people were banking with them they had also succeeded in moving some customers on to other banks. The range of financial services on offer had grown to include insurance and some online services and the Bank had been recognised with several national awards and a European Union Award for Best Partnership Work for Large Enterprises in 2013.

In relation to active ageing, the Second Savings Bank provides opportunities for voluntary activity among current and former First Bank staff. There are now more than 270 people providing financial services on a voluntary basis for Second Bank. The welfare and debt counselling services that the Bank offers provides people with the opportunity to improve the management of their money and journey down the road towards financial security and independent living.

Zweite Sparkasse website