Remote Areas of Spain Will Soon Have Expanded Banking Access

Remote areas of Spain will soon have more access to financial services, with villages having populations of 500 people or more being guaranteed proximity to a bank branch or ATM.

Both the Spanish government and financial institutions in the country came to an agreement that rural villages should be guaranteed access to banking, Reuters reported.

Under the agreement, those of lower means would get protection against rising mortgage costs.

“In February we took an important step to improve service for our elderly and people with disabilities and now we are taking a second step in rural areas to cover 100% of the population and territory,” Economy Minister Nadia Calvino told reporters on Friday, per Reuters.

See also: The Ripple Effects of Digital Engagement

Digital is the doorway, as PYMNTS discovered in its most recent study in the ConnectedEconomy series, How The World Does Digital: The Impact Of Payments On Digital Transformation. The study noted that overall engagement across connected activities rose 1.2% in the second quarter — a small but significant step toward full digital potential.

Read more: How to Catch the Next Wave of Digital Transformation

At the end of Q2 2022, PYMNTS’ study of 15,000 consumers in 11 countries, which comprise 50% of global GDP, finds that digital engagement is on the rise everywhere as more consumers use digital methods to engage in one of the 37 routine activities measured by the study. Nearly 84% of the consumers in the study recently engaged in at least one of those 37 digital activities, even as they resumed their physical world activities.

Related: 11-Nation Study: Deeper Engagement Key to Expanding Digital Transformation

Banks have six months to enforce the new rules with the possibility of an additional six-month extension, Calvino said.

“We do have to review this catalog of measures and, if necessary, see what improvements can be included to be able to address this new situation,” Calvino said, Reuters reported.