Their latest move is installing queuing machines in their branches, but don’t think they are simply making sure everyone is served in order of arrival.

When I first came to Portugal, the first question was, where can I open a bank account? I got the answer that just about every new expat got at the time, go to the Banco Espirito Santo in Faro, they have a lady who speaks English. It was a long way from Albufeira, but they had “a lady that speaks English”. Now it’s no problem to find someone who speaks English, the problem is finding anyone to help you face to face.

I am sure she has long retired, but then so has the bank. Shrouded in controversy they closed, but then have so many banks. In fact, the mergers in the Portuguese banking system during this period led to important changes in the structure of the banking market.

Well-known names disappear from the high street

In March 2000, the group Banco Pinto e Sotto Mayor and Crédito Predial Português, were ‘merged’. The bank BPSM was bought by Banco Comercial Português (Millennium BCP). This was followed by a joint takeover bid for the entire capital of Atlântico. In June 2000, Atlântico was incorporated into BCP. In 2000, BCP also acquired Império, together with Banco Mello. At the same time, BTSM Investments was acquired by Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Crédito Predial was eventually acquired by the Spanish banking group Santander.

These operations generating profound changes in the structure of the Portuguese banking market.

There are other names that have long disappeared from our high streets. I used to use the Portimão branch of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino. Inside there was a long balcony, enough room for ten or twenty clients to be served, a vast room full of desks and people, some of whom would get up to serve you. No sign of computers, these were the days of personal service. The Caixa Geral swallowed them up.

Spanish banks take over international names

Lloyds Bank had a quite large presence in Portugal but were incorporated into Banco Bilbao Vizcaya. Barclays had 84 branches in Portugal, but they were taken over by the Spanish group BankInter. The Spanish Banco Popular was also taken over by Santander.

So many names have disappeared, and most of them will claim the same reasons, the advance of technology. Strangely, according to the official records there are something like 150 banks in Portugal, but the vast majority are either online banks, credit institutions (still technically banks) credit card issuers such as UNICRE etc. For the vast majority of us, a high street bank, with physical branches near at hand, are our day-to-day choice.

The major high street banks are now, Millennium BCP, Caixa Geral de Depositos (the government bank), Novobanco, Banco BPI, Santander and BankInter (ex Barclays). Banco BIC is present on some high streets, but they can’t match the top banks in terms of branches. Millennium BCP will tell you they are the largest bank in Portugal, Santander say the same thing.

So what’s the difference?

Sadly, very little. The big banks all have one ‘agenda’. Reduce staff and automate everything. Banks are installing what the manufacturers call, Bank Queue Management. What you may believe is that these systems you find at the door of the bank are to make sure everyone is seen in order of arrival.

Sadly, that is far from true. These systems are designed to prioritise customers who will make the bank most profit. If you want a loan, or a mortgage or credit card, you will be seen as quickly as possible. If you want to deposit a cheque or draw money, you go to the back of the queue. One person realised that people arriving after him were being seen first (Millennium). After an hour he gave up and left. Another person waited three and a half hours to make a cash withdrawal (Santander).

The bank will tell you that they have machines to do these ‘minor’ tasks. These days the Multi Bank machine in the branch will probably accept deposits in notes, some of the larger branches have machines that will take coins as well.

ATM machines everywhere

There is no accurate figure of exactly how many Multi Bank machines are available in Portugal, but it’s in excess of 12,000. They are owned by SIBS, which in turn is owned by all the banks, so MB machines are not bank specific. They are however different. The machines installed in a bank branch will probably accept the deposit of bank notes and cheques. The banks want these machines to do everything that would have previously taken up staff time. That way they can reduce staff, and that’s something they all seem to be doing. Add to that the banks internet site and app, and they would like you to do everything online, and not at the branch.

It’s worth noting that there are new machines popping up everywhere, normally Euronet. ‘Euronet Worldwide’ is a Kansas-based business that specialises in “global electronic transactions.” It’s also likely the most expensive way you’ll ever access your own money as a visitor. They are still free to use for a Portuguese bank account, but visitors will pay high fees, and these charges are far from ‘transparent’. One popular visitor website says ‘Avoid Euronet ATMs like the plague’.

When did you last see or use a cheque?

The online sites and apps are very good, you can do a lot from home and it’s convenient and quick. Add to that the newer facilities, such as MB Way and if the banks get their way, you won’t set foot in a branch. Now you can pay someone by just transferring the funds phone to phone. Cheques are a thing of the past. Just waive your MB card in front of the machine, you won’t even need to sign for smaller amounts such as your morning coffee.

If you do go to a branch, and there still some operations the machine can’t offer, the queuing system is going to make you wait to speak to someone, they don’t want to employ staff to do minor tasks. Of course, if you are a high net worth client, you will get special service and probably a special branch not open to the smaller client.

It’s not ‘politically correct’, but the reality is that there are two levels of service, it all depends on what you are worth to the bank.

Author

Resident in Portugal for 50 years, publishing and writing about Portugal since 1977. Privileged to have seen, firsthand, Portugal progress from a dictatorship (1974) into a stable democracy. 

Paul Luckman