Analytics, Banks, Estonia, Financial Services, Investments

Last autumn SEB introduced a new accumulation solution, Digital Coin Jar, that allows one to accumulate cents on card payments. Namely, the bank system rounds up the debit card payments to the next full euro and transfers the difference between the rounded and paid sum from the customer's current account to their savings deposit, informs LETA.

"Digital Coin Jar has proven to be very popular among SEB clients, as it allows the card users to save, even if it is only cent by cent. SEB's survey shows that about a quarter of clients only deposit larger amounts, but in this case smaller saving options are left unused. Digital Coin Jar fills that gap," said Eerika Vaikmäe-Koit, Head of Retail Banking and Technology.

Last year 35.5% of SEB's clients saved money, while today this indicator has, thanks to Digital Coin Jar, increased by 2.6% to 38.1%.

The main target group of the Digital Coin Jar is young people aged 18-25, and in this segment the number of money savers has increased more than average (4.2%).

"Young people are still the most active card users who, at the same time, have the lowest amount of savings and are the least determined to save money. The Digital Coin Jar helps young people in particular to take their first steps towards creating a habit of saving," added Vaikmäe-Koit.

The Mindscan survey conducted in June showed that a fifth of young people already collect a cash reserve and use some of the saving or deposit opportunities at the bank. Additionally, 40% of the respondents said that saving is a very important subject for them and they plan in the next five years to definitely open a deposit in the bank or start accumulating money for the future in some other way.

On average, an SEB customer completes approximately 20 card payments per month, and by using the Digital Coin Jar you could set aside for the future approximately ten euros per month as a client goes about consuming as usual. In total, SEB customers conduct more than four million bank card transactions per month.

SEB customers can activate their Digital Coin Jar via the Internet Bank or at a branch. A contract for the Digital Coin Jar is for an indefinite term, and opening and using the service is free of charge.