THEAntitrust has started ainvestigation towards Intesa Sanpaolo need Isybank, the digital bank of the group led by Carlo Messina. After complaints from several hundred thousand account holders and consumer associations, the methods with which the two companies communicated and implemented the account transfer from Intesa Sanpaolo to Isybank. In essence, Intesa is moving its more digital customers towards a service that, theoretically, should be more in line with their habits. In numbers, there are 4 million account holders who will change their colors by the end of next year, with around 300 thousand migrations having already taken place.
A note from the Authority explains that "approximately 2.000 reports have been received relating to the transfer plan which involves the transfer of customers that Intesa Sanpaolo defines, in the communication sent to them, as 'predominantly digital', i.e. customers who 'are familiar with digital services and channels, as well as consumer customers who, in any case, make no or limited use of the branch'”.
Transition from Intesa to Isybank: ambiguous communication
In detail, consumers have complained that the communication it was delivered in internet banking or in the Intesa Sanpaolo app without any particular evidence and in a period of the year largely coinciding with the summer holidays. Therefore, account holders would not have been fully aware of the transfer of their account to another operator. Indeed, they often became aware of it only after the final date set by Intesa to be able to express their opinion denial to the passage.
The right to oppose the transfer of the account
The right to oppose the transfer appears not to have been clearly indicated. Furthermore, the transition to the new operator would entail important changes to the contractual conditions existing with Intesa Sanpaolo and the methods of using the service: there will be no physical branches to contact, as it is a completely digital operator with which you can only interact via smartphone and not via the browser of your personal computer as was the case with Intesa Sanpaolo; some features and services will be missing (for example, the so-called virtual cards) present in Intesa Sanpaolo and absent in Isybank, explains the Authority. According to which this would entail, at least for some, a cost increase.
