Does it make sense for the national postal service to offer banking services? It works that way in other countries

Sunday, Sep 22, 2024

El Confidencial

Correos plans financial services by 2025, drawing parallels to European postal banking models for financial inclusion.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

Spain’s public postal service, Correos, plans to reintroduce financial services starting in 2025, drawing parallels with historical models like the former Postal Savings Bank. While details are scarce, the entity is expected to offer basic financial services and electronic money to underserved populations. The article examines international examples: France features a fully state-owned Postal Banking system focused on financial inclusion; Italy’s BancoPosta has evolved from postal savings but operates with more private characteristics; Czech Republic shows a private bank operating within post offices; Greece partners its public postal service with a private bank; and Germany lacks a direct postal banking link, relying instead on strong local institutions. The author suggests Correos might focus on rural inclusion rather than full commercial competition to avoid antitrust issues seen in other European models.

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