ČSOB, the second largest bank by the number of clients, will stop offering multibanking – that is, the possibility for clients to connect other accounts in other banks to ČSOB’s electronic banking. In the mobile application, it will end on September 1, in Internet banking on October 21.
The service did not find enough supporters, ČSOB announced to clients. “Approximately 14,000 people have activated it since it was launched, but currently only less than 300 people are actively renewing their accounts,” explained spokesman Patrik Madle when asked by the Peníze.cz website.
People can currently operate their accounts from Česká spořitelna, Air Bank, Komerční banka, Moneta, Creditas and Raiffeisenbank through ČSOB’s internet or mobile banking.
“We are sorry if you miss multibanking. However, we can come up with new services and improvements faster that most clients will appreciate. Including you,” ČSOB writes to clients.
“Our decision does not affect other banks that offer multibanking. If you have our account connected with them, it will continue to work for you,” adds ČSOB.
Fifth birthday
The pioneer of this innovation in the Czech Republic was Banka Creditas, which launched it in July 2018 under the separate Richee brand as a multi-bank application. In the following months, in addition to ČSOB, Moneta, Air Bank and Komerční banka also offered multibanking. Later – at the end of 2020 – Raiffeisenbank joined.
According to the PSD2 EU directive, banks had to “open up” to third-party applications from 2018 – offer them data connection via API technology. Of course, so-called open banking can only be used by verified companies (other banks, or other companies with a special license from the Czech National Bank), which at the same time have the consent of the clients whose accounts they connect to their application.
However, the directive did not force banks to actively introduce such an option – to look at other accounts with competitors – for their clients directly in their own internet banking. Although some banks allowed their clients to connect their accounts in another bank (or in a non-bank application), they did not offer such an option in their interface. Česká spořitelna remained skeptical of this service (it tested it on employees and, due to low interest, ultimately did not launch it during peak operations), Fio, mBank or UniCredit.
The service was aimed only at clients who, in addition to their main bank, have at least one other account with a competitor. But it did not arouse much interest among them either. And even many people who tried multibanking soon lost patience with it. Because of inconsistent standards, technical problems and other complications, multibanking seemed impractical.
In some cases, the client could actively control the accounts in other banks (enter payments), but in other cases he could only see a preview (balance information). Some banks showed only current accounts, others also others, typically savings. The connection with each “paired” bank needs to be renewed (confirmed) quite often – at least once every three months, sometimes even every month. Fast data update was also stuck.
Many clients eventually discovered that it would be easier for them to log in to individual banks separately directly in their interface – i.e. the same as before. This was also helped by the expansion of mobile banking applications, in which the client logs in quickly and easily, for example with a fingerprint.
In addition to multibanking, open banking via API also has other uses. It works, for example, when applying for a loan: the applicant gives consent to the bank from which he wants to borrow, to automatically look at his current account in another bank and thus find out his transaction history, regular income or expenses. Another possibility of use are various non-banking applications (with the necessary license) for managing personal finances.
It remains in other banks
Other banks that offer multibanking do not yet plan to cancel it, according to a survey by the website Peníze.cz.
Creditas Bank already canceled the separate Richee brand and the application of the same name in the summer of 2020, but it continues to offer account connection in ten other banks in the Czech Republic (Air Bank, ČS, ČSOB including Poštovní spořitelna, Fio, J&T, KB, mBank, Moneta , Raiffeisenbank, UniCredit) and in six Slovak ones (ČSOB, Raiffeisenbank, Slovenská spořitelna, Tatra Banka, UniCredit, VÚB).
“Approximately 20,000 of our clients with current accounts have tried this option. About five thousand clients actively use multibanking at Creditas,” explains spokeswoman Lucie Brunclíková.
“We are not thinking about canceling the service. We perceive the connection – whether with another bank or perhaps with the company’s accounting system – as an interesting service for our clients. From the beginning, we knew that this service would be attractive to a smaller part of clients who have a larger number of different accounts, enjoy finances and like to ‘play’ with them. At the same time, we believe that especially the younger generation, who grew up in a comfortable environment of smart applications and are used to easily creating additional accounts with a few clicks, can appreciate this integration,” adds the Creditas spokesperson.
Komerční banka clients can connect accounts from ten other banks in the Czech Republic and three from Slovakia in its banking.
About 15,000 clients out of a total of one million users of the Smart Bank mobile application actively use multibanking in Moneta, says spokeswoman Zuzana Filipová. As part of user friendliness, Moneta wants to continue to offer this service. Clients can connect accounts from seven other banks, Moneta is no longer considering expanding their number.
Multibanking is also seen as a useful service by Air Bank, in whose interface clients can connect the accounts of six other banks. “Several percent of our clients use it, but year-on-year – even after taking into account the addition of new clients – this is a slight increase,” explains spokesman Roman Macháček.
Raiffeisenbank clients can also join six other banks in its internet banking (not in the mobile application). “We are working on the expansion of banks, including some foreign ones. We are not considering cancellation,” says Martina Kotasová from the press department.
Since its launch, 38,000 clients have used multibanking at Raiffeisenbank. “We provide the client with accounts in another bank only an overview, not the possibility of an active operation (payment). The most common use is therefore to check the balance of the funds on the connected account and also to connect the account of another bank as part of the loan application,” explains Kotasová.
Petr Kučera
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2023-08-22 03:00:00
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