Elderly struggle with online banking, pensioners’ union says

Elderly people are still struggling to use technology for their banking, Cyprus’ pensioners’ union Ekysy said on Thursday, after Hellenic Bank informed them that mobile units would  not be reopening.

Last year, Hellenic Bank announced two mobile units covering a total of 27 rural communities but they have since been shut down. According to Esyky, Hellenic won’t fully reopen their branch in Stroumbi, Paphos either.

Esyky said the reasoning behind the bank’s decision was the restriction measures due to the pandemic and the bank’s decision to work with a reduced network of branches. This includes the suspension of operations of mobile bank units.

As far as the branch in Stroumbi which Ekysy requested be fully operational, the bank responded by saying all 20 communities that use the branch can still go every Tuesday and Thursday when it is open.

The status quo however is extremely difficult for thousands of pensioners, the union said.

The letter from Hellenic Bank to the union on July 3, urged its customers to use online services such as web banking and the mobile app “ignoring the fact that for the elderly it is impossible to use new technology,” Ekysy said.

It added that “banks continue to overcharge for services that must be done in their branches, such as utility payments and inexcusably high charges for bank statements that pensioners need when submitting various applications.”

It called on the bank to reconsider its decisions.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.