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Accessible to all – You can count on us

CUSTOMERS

GRI:

[103-1, 103-2 and 103-3] for Aspects: Service accessibility and the bank's openness to various customers, including persons with disabilities, seniors, etc.
[Custom indicator 10] Measures implemented to improve access of disadvantaged persons to financial services
[Custom indicator 11] Number of bank branches with Barrier-Free Service Certificate

We are open to various customers. We do our very best to ensure that our products and services are accessible to every community and every person.

We have always tried to address the needs of people with different physical disabilities or vision and hearing impairments or particularly exposed to the risk of social or financial exclusion for other reasons (e.g. age, place of residence). In 2017, we focused on activities addressed to people with disabilities and senior citizens.

Our goals:

We wish to ensure the highest quality of services, that meet the specific needs of customers in all points of contact.

We want to be the bank of choice for customers with disabilities in Poland.

GRI:

[Custom indicator 10] Initiatives to improve access to financial services for disadvantaged people

Barrier-free service

Since 2010, we have been developing a complex, multichannel programme called ”Barrier-Free Service”, which aims to provide people with special needs full access to the bank’s services and products.

Under this programme we are constantly increasing the accessibility of our services to customers with disabilities by:

responding to the needs voiced by our customers (e.g. via social media, bank of ideas or expectation surveys),
developing new solutions in collaboration with experts- leading Polish foundations representing people with disabilities, such as Fundacja Polska Bez Barier, Fundacja TUS, Utilitia, Fundacja Katarynka and Spółdzielnia Socjalna FADO.

We have also introduced improvements for people with reading or writing problems – solutions that help them submit declarations of will that are mandatory in the entire branch network.

Barrier-free branches

Since 2014, Santander Bank Polska in partnership with the TUS Foundation has been evaluating architectural accessibility of the bank’s branches and certifying the branches, in accordance with the methodology published on niepełnosprawnik.pl.
Accessibility is the absence of any architectural barriers and the availability of provisions, such as a “priority service” desk, frames for signatures by blind people, possibility of reading out loud the content of documents to be signed by the customer in the presence of a witness or another bank employee who sign it off for conformance, the possibility of using a mini magnifying glass by the customer, etc.
Employees of certified branches are obliged to complete training in providing services to customers with special needs. In 2017, classroom training sessions delivered by trainers with disabilities and e-learning sessions were attended by 830 people.
Employees at the certified branches are required to follow the barrier-free service standards. The certification process covers branches located all over Poland.

GRI:

[Custom indicator 11] Number of bank branches with Barrier-Free Service Certificate

At the end of 2017, 167 out of 576 Santander Bank Polska branches were granted the “Barrier-Free Branch” certificate. This accounted for 29 % of our entire branch network in Poland.

Architectural accessibility audits were carried out in 20 of our branches. All these outlets were granted accessibility certificates by an independent expert from the TUS Foundation.

Additionally, employees working at branches certified in terms of architectural accessibility carry out activities that promote our bank as a barrier-free institution and implement initiatives that aim to bring back the potentially excluded persons into economic and social life and economic education. Our employees organise workshops, for instance, at their branches, integration schools or non-governmental organisations.

In 2017, we carried out 21 local initiatives, with the involvement of 94 employees. The estimated number of beneficiaries was 4928 people.

GRI:

[Custom indicator 10] Initiatives to improve access to financial services for disadvantaged people

Customer Service in the Polish Sign Language

As the first Polish bank, we introduced customer service in the Polish Sign Language in remote channels funded by our bank.

In 2014, our advisors in the Multichannel Communication Centre, who know the Polish Sign Language started to provide services to deaf customers or customers with hearing impairments via dedicated video calls, and since then we have been continuously expanding the scope of the bank’s accessibility to this group of people. Today, customers may get in touch with an online advisor operating in the Polish Sign Language via:

Santander mobile,
Santander internet,
the bank’s website and mobile devices,
mobile devices in bank branches,

a trilateral conversation at the bank branch: a customer with hearing impairment, a branch advisor and a translator i.e. a remote advisor operating in the Polish Sign Language from the Multichannel Communication Centre. This is valuable assistance in the case of services and processes provided on the branch level. The initiative covers all the bank branches in Poland.

In 2017, we continued to expand services and processes for people with hearing impairments under the online advisor service. We noted a considerable increase in the number of interactions:

+117%

2016 vs 2015
+68%

2017 vs 2016

Audio induction loop pilot programme

We were the first bank in Poland to address the needs of customers with hearing impairments, who wear hearing aids. In 2017, in cooperation with Fado Social Cooperative we implemented in 20 barrier-free branches a system of customer service with the use of audio induction loops. These devices improve the comfort and standard of conversations with customers.

The list of branches equipped with induction loops is available HERE.

The project was supported by a social media campaign and messages on the bank’s ATM screens.

ATMs adapted to the needs of blind and visually impaired people

We are adapting more ATMs in Poland to the needs of people who are blind or visually impaired. The ATMs are being equipped with a headphone jack, to which customers can plug in their headsets to listen to voice instructions. In this way, customers with vision impairments can execute basic operations on their own: withdraw cash, activate a new card or change the PIN. These operations can be executed by owners of any bank card. ATM’s list HERE.

Accessible communication

We were the first bank in Poland to adapt our advertising and educational communication to the needs of customers with visual impairment (audio description) and hearing impairment (subtitles, translation into the Polish Sign Language). The initiative applied to the bank’s advertising and promotional campaigns. In 2017, a total of 21 films were adapted, including commercials and instruction videos, the Barrier-Free Service website and local initiatives promoting services and special facilities in the Barrier-Free Branches.

Accessibility of www.santander.pl /obb website

The Barrier-Free Service website was subjected to an accessibility audit. In 2017, the audit was carried out twice by an independent expert from Utilitia in terms of compliance with WCAG 2.0 guidelines.

Moreover, Santander online was certified in terms of its accessibility to customers with visual impairments.

We are working on making Santander mobile accessible to people with visual impairments.

Cultural and sports events

In 2017, we took part in cultural and sports events addressed to persons with disabilities:

Polish Wheelchair Rugby League
Barier-Free Cinema

To learn more about our initiatives go here.

Congress of People with Disabilities

The Congress of People with Disabilities is a nationwide event organised by our bank every year since 2015. It is addressed to people with disabilities, their families, representatives of NGOs focusing on this group of people and representatives of institutions focused on disabilities, universities, etc.

The objectives of the event:

to develop guidelines for the new support system for people with disabilities and underlying assumptions for the laws implementing the system;
to define priority actions under our strategy of support to people with disabilities.

The Congress is preceded by regional conventions organised by partner organisations in different cities in Poland. In 2016, there were 8 events of this type, and in 2017 as many as 14 (in 14 regions). In 2017, regional conventions gathered more than 800 people.

All events related to the congress are always promoted in the media, both traditional (press, radio, TV), and electronic, as well as direct channels based on cooperation with multiple entities throughout the country (NGOs, central and local administration, public institutions, universities and research centres).

Santander Bank Polska supported the organisation of the Congress which took place on 25 October 2017.

3,430

The number of beneficiaries in 2017 (445 direct participants and 2,985 people who participated online).

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