Relationship with customers

With the 2022-2025 Business Plan, Intesa Sanpaolo has consolidated a path started in previous years in the field of digitization, innovation and multi-channel. This journey involves a gradual and thorough review of the IT platform, improvements in operating model efficiency, and transformation to the cloud.

The main initiatives in 2024 focused on strengthening Isybank, Intesa Sanpaolo's fully digital bank. Commercially launched in June 2023, Isybank has made its app available on the iOS and Android stores, as well as an official showcase site. Based on the cloud-native Isytech platform, developed in collaboration with the fintech Thought Machine, Isybank is aimed at Retail customers who prefer the use of digital and mobile banking services. Isybank enables a fully online banking experience, eliminating the need to go to the branch or use physical services. It offers a faster and more streamlined approach, with an emphasis on simplicity, immediacy, and reduced costs compared to traditional banking.

To enable this digital transition, the Group has promoted various training initiatives to strengthen the digital culture in Italy, promoting a "green" IT ecosystem. The "Opening Future" portal plays a key role in improving digital skills for SMEs, fintechs, startups and educational institutions.

In addition, the AIxeleration program continues to expand the adoption of artificial intelligence across all Divisions in a sustainable, responsible and consistent manner. The program is based on agreements with technology partners (e.g. Microsoft, Google) and academic institutions (e.g. CETIF, London University, Fujitsu, Berkeley University), as well as collaboration with CENTAI (Intesa Sanpaolo's AI research center) and the Anti-Financial Crime Digital Hub. More than 104 use cases have been developed, thanks to more than 215 specialists dedicated to AI, and the first Generative Artificial Intelligence solutions already tested in the laboratory have been adopted.

In 2024, the International Subsidiary Banks Division continued its service digitalization efforts in several subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe, achieving significant progress in the Retail+ program.

Promoting accessibility is a key aspect of the Group's commitment to inclusion, ensuring that people with disabilities can easily and independently access financial services. The Group has therefore worked to eliminate physical and digital barriers, creating user-friendly and inclusive environments for all customers.

Since 2022, a major project has been launched to improve the accessibility of all websites and mobile applications. This initiative focuses on ensuring that all users, including those with disabilities, can easily access and navigate online banking services. As regards the IBD perimeter, efforts were concentrated on identifying the applicability of the European Accessibility Act in its markets and preparing a recovery plan regarding the bank's website and digital channels for a period of implementation starting from 2025.

A survey will be conducted in 2025 to update a previous survey of overseas branches, covering 100% of capital properties, including subsidiaries and headquarters. This mapping will make it possible to map various accessibility parameters such as physical access to counters and managers. As of the last survey, conducted in early 2024, the highest levels of outdoor accessibility were recorded in Croatia and Slovenia, at 93% and 98% respectively.

In Italy, accessibility for visually impaired customers is enhanced through ATMs with

Graphic visibility interfaces and over 7,407 machines equipped with headphones for audio guidance.

The monitoring of the accessibility and usability of buildings and services led to the completion of a census of 2,274 operating points, equal to about 60% of the total, covering Retail, Exclusive, Business, Private and Corporate Branches and various types of branches, satellite branches and company branches. The census verified the usability of automated devices and the accessibility of physical spaces, including tactile paths for the visually impaired and the ease of access to counters and service areas. This constant effort aims to ensure full accessibility of all operating points for customers with disabilities, reinforcing Intesa Sanpaolo's commitment to inclusive services.

In order to promote the quality of the service offered, the Intesa Sanpaolo Group is the largest banking group in Italy with around 3,000 branches and a strategic international presence, with over 900 branches, 7.5 million customers, including subsidiary banks operating in commercial banking and an international network specialised in supporting corporate customers.

The attention to the "physical place" of reception has been particularly developed with the New Branch Layout project which has produced a significant change in the ways of meeting the customer with modular spaces that focus on reception and functional areas depending on the type of activity to be carried out (customer reception lounges, living area, self-banking area,  etc.). The new branch layout, which is also suitable for hosting artistic and cultural events, at the end of 2023 is present in 406 branches, including 30 Business branches, an increase of 35 units compared to 2022

The project incorporates the most stringent regulations for the removal of architectural barriers and in 2014 obtained recognition from FIABA - Italian Fund for the Abatement of Architectural Barriers, which recognized its total compliance with the requirements for accessibility and usability for people with reduced mobility.

Digital Branch

• The Digital Branch is the access point to the Bank's digital services, the first touch point available to customers, able to guarantee welcome, listening, assistance on products and services and offer commercial advice.
• It assists all Banca dei Territori customers, Fideuram-Private Banking and Isybank customers and prospects, in synergy with the physical network.
• Integrated with the App and the website, it is an interaction channel that allows immediate, easy and efficient contact. In addition, with a human-to-human approach, it offers a personalized remote advisory service dedicated to all the Bank's customers, carried out with extended hours and in collaboration with the network of physical branches, through the use of innovative communication channels (chat, video banking).

With reference to the area of investments, following the entry into force of the MiFID II Directive and the European Regulations on investor protection, the Bank has further strengthened its model in order to be able to offer a higher level of protection to investors and greater transparency in the negotiations that take place on the financial instruments markets. In particular, Intesa Sanpaolo has introduced new obligations in terms of governance of financial instruments, knowledge requirements and competence of the personnel responsible for providing investment services as well as ex ante and ex post information on costs, charges and incentives for financial products and services offered.

A special section of the Bank's website presents the Service Model based on the provision of the Advisory service by making the main reference documentation available to the customer (among others, the Profiling Questionnaire and the Contract for the provision of Investment Services and Additional Services ). Furthermore, in the section of the site dedicated to sustainability, the document Policies on the integration of sustainability risks and information on the negative effects on sustainability factors is available, which illustrates Intesa Sanpaolo's policy with respect to the integration of environmental sustainability risks, social and governance and provides information on how the Bank considers the main negative effects on sustainability factors (Principal Adverse Impact) in the activity of investment advice and insurance distribution.

Within the Progetto Multicanalità Integrata (Integrated Multichannel Project), information sheets and pre-contract documents were made available on the WEB platform for the distance marketing of financial products.

The new products and services distributed by Intesa Sanpaolo, as well as the changes to existing products and services, are always accompanied by a Product Governance process in which the main Group structures actively participate. The main purpose of Product Governance is to make the product as close as possible to the needs of the customers for which it is intended, with compliance checks at the start-up stage and throughout its life cycle. Compliance clearing includes a preventive verification of compliance with applicable legislation. Similarly, innovative projects that involve the start-up of businesses or entry into new markets are assessed in advance to ensure substantial and formal compliance with internal and external regulations. Conformity assessments are conducted in compliance with the principles of correctness and protection of customer interests and also relate to the quality of the information provided and the consistency of the same services, products or operations with the expectations of the customers to whom they are addressed.

For some time now, Intesa Sanpaolo has been engaged in an open and constructive dialogue with all the Consumer Associations belonging to the National Council of Consumers and Users (recognised by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy) and representative at national level.

In this context, in 2019 it signed the Framework Agreement "Let's innovate relationships" (renewed in July 2021) which provides for the formation of 3 permanent discussion tables on the issues of greatest interest: Products and Services/Banking-insurance education/Territorial relations; Legislation/Authority-Customer Assistance/Conciliation; Educational/Sustainability/Impact.

Intesa Sanpaolo is also a member and member of the Board of Directors of the Consumers' Forum, an independent association which includes the most important Consumer Associations, numerous Industrial and Service Companies and their Trade Associations, Institutions, which aims to maintain an open and permanent dialogue between companies and consumer organizations.

The Bank, together with the Consumer Associations, adopts joint conciliation as an out-of-court resolution tool adopted and managed together with the Consumer Associations.

In order to monitor the level of protection and security of personal data, a complex process has long been introduced and is constantly updated, that provides the internal certification basis of the service approach for the protection of personal data at the Group level, aimed at continuous improvement.

Essential is the effort aimed at raising awareness among the employees on the precaution which, already ingrained in the daily banking activities, represents the very essence of personal data protection: the training upgrade is intended in general to all the employees and in particular, according to the different needs, to the staff that covers specific roles.

The following activities are kept under constant monitoring:

• analysis, in terms of personal data protection, of new products or initiatives carried out by the Group banks
• processing of customers’ requests with regards to the right of access to their data or pertaining to complaints on the subject.

Security management is, for the financial sector, a necessary prerequisite in customer relationships. As well as the traditional issue of physical security, aimed at countering the phenomena of robbery, for some years the attention devoted to combatting fraud and cybercrime perpetrated against customers through the fraudulent use of services offered by the Bank (Internet banking, Phone banking, payment cards, cheques and ATMs) has increased.

Such offences, also known as cybercrime, are committed against customers using increasingly sophisticated technological stratagems and social engineering tactics (especially in the main communication channels like email, phone and social networks).

To prevent and combat these risks, Intesa Sanpaolo has implemented a series of measures in Italian banks and in some of the Group’s international banks, including the anti-fraud system, which analyses all card transactions made through online channels (e.g. Internet Banking). “Suspicious” transactions are checked by a specialist unit and, if necessary, contact is made with the customer concerned as soon as possible.
In the event of ascertainable fraud or attempted fraud, the customer is also assisted in filing a report with the relevant authorities.

All customers are informed on the rules of conduct for proper and safe use of online tools (e.g., updated antivirus software, detection of phishing emails, correct use of personal codes, etc.) and the information is also made available in the "Safety" section of the Bank's website.