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Compte-Nickel helps to expand banking inclusion
06.07.2017 | Sustainable finance
Imagine being able to visit your local clerk to open a bank account with no income or asset requirements. And accessing your account from anywhere by using an app. That’s exactly what Compte-Nickel offers! The new offer from the BNP Paribas Group aims to make banking accessible to everyone, without discrimination. It’s a product that also responds to the tenth UN Sustainable Development Goal to “reduce inequalities”.
Compte-Nickel in few figures :
629 569
customers
2663
nickel's tobacconists
5 min
opening account
100%
connected
Compte-Nickel: banking for everyone
In 2014, a financial startup launched a unique banking offer, called Compte-Nickel.
- Available to all customers, with no accessibility criteria or minimum income requirements, all with very low administrative fees (€20 per year), a Compte -Nickel account can be opened by anyone, including people with heavy debt burdens or facing banking exclusion.
- Compte-Nickel accounts can be opened at tobacconists. For easier access, these accounts are supported by a network of almost 2,500 tobacconists in France.
- Compte-Nickel offers a complete line of basic services including a banking account and a card for withdrawals and international payments debited immediately from the account. It also offers a wide range of online services such as checking account balances, performing transactions online (transfers, direct debits, budgeting tools) and receiving alerts by SMS or email.
Compte-Nickel is an essential offer at a time when 500,000 French customers do not have access to a bank account, despite the right to a bank account affirmed by the country’s Banking Act in 1984. Indeed, a bank account is necessary to receive salaries, wire transfers and manage a personal budget. The programme’s success has reached impressive heights, with nearly 600,000 accounts opened as of May 2017.
Compte-Nickel and BNP Paribas: a natural partnership
On April 4, 2017, Compte-Nickel joined the BNP Paribas Group. The decision aligns perfectly with the Group’s objectives in terms of banking inclusion and innovation, especially since this account offers a unique service and a major innovation.The Group has always expressed its intention to accompany evolutions in the market and consumer needs by updating its services and products.
Loyal to its CSR charter that aims to “make its products and services widely accessible”, BNP Paribas reconfirms its intention to offer a pertinent and concrete response to all groups.
Credit and insurance: on the frontlines of accessibility
Examples abound that illustrate BNP Paribas’s actions in favour of banking inclusion. One notable effort to expand banking accessibility is Hello Bank!, the online banking offer accessible from anywhere that delivers uniquely flexible savings solutions.
Accessibility is not just for banking offers:
- In terms of credit, BNP Paribas Personal Finance develops offers that are easily accessible at branches, online, by phone or at partner retail locations (stores, e-commerce sites, etc.). BNP Paribas Personal Finance has committed to taking a co-responsibility approach with its customers by developing a budget assistance and education offer, enabling customers to better evaluate their budgets and prepare their projects.
- In terms of insurance, BNP Paribas Cardif offers loan insurance, savings solutions, retirement insurance and borrower insurance tailored to each customer. This offer can provide access to mortgages for those excluded from real estate loans, such as people suffering from health problems.
BNP Paribas is fully committed to fighting poverty and expanding access to all financial services. Organized around 12 commitments and 4 pillars, the Group’s CSR policy enables it to serve as a key player for economic, social and civic change. BNP Paribas’s CSR commitment echoes the Sustainable Development Goals established by the UN in 2015 and that aim to “end poverty, fight inequalities and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030”.