For 2.4 million customers of Ubi Banca, time X is about to start: on Monday 12 April they will be customers of Intesa San Paolo in all respects. About a thousand branches of Ubi share the same fate. Over the weekend of 10 and 11 April, the IT migration of the entire Ubi network to that of Intesa will take place. It is the final result of the acquisition in summer 2020. But what does all this mean for the now former customers of Ubi Banca?
In the immediate future, Ubi ATMs could undergo “temporary operations over the weekend”, explains Intesa, specifying that the Intesa Sanpaolo group’s ATMs can be used without problems.
The change of the Iban
The most important news for customers is the change of the Iban, which has already been communicated for some time. The new code will not cause, as Intesa SanPaolo explains, any hassle since the crediting of salaries and pensions, as well as the debits of bills or loans, “will be automatically updated so that each pre-authorized operation that arrives in Intesa Sanpaolo is carried out with the new coordinates “. Even if the institute still advises, for the sake of scruple, to communicate the new Iban to those who make debits or credits domiciled.
Bancomat, prepaid cards and credit cards
For owners of debit cards like the Libramat ATM, nothing changes at the moment. Customers from Ubi will continue to use those of the old institute until expiry, if earlier than the end of the year, or in any case until 31 December 2021. Then they will be contacted to sign a new one. However, news for those who use the Enjoy prepaid card: Altroconsumo explains that from 12 April, to recharge it, you will need to use the new user code, which can be obtained by calling 800303303 or on the Intesa website. But it will always be valid until the end of the year at the latest.
During the migration weekend, customers will be guaranteed the possibility of using debit cards for withdrawals and payments up to a maximum of 250 euros per day.
With regard to Ubi bank credit cards (Hybrid, Libra and Kalìa), the expiry date of December 31, 2021 remains, but it is anticipated to June 30 “if the card is mainly used by signing the receipt” or until the natural expiry only if previous to the end of the year. In any case, if the cards are lost, stolen or deteriorated, the customer will be provided with that of Banca Intesa.
Mortgages and investments
Whoever has a loan with Ubi Banca or with the old bank has a securities dossier, will not undergo any changes: the installments will continue to be paid exactly as before. “These are contracts signed at the time which, therefore, continue to have full validity” they explain by Intesa Sanpaolo, specifying that “over time Intesa could contact these customers to propose them a different offer, whose economic conditions, however, cannot be pejorative “.
Online services
Here there will be news as early as April 12, the day when the Internet banking platform will change and consequently also the mobile app. As early as mid-March, explains Intesa, customers can find “all the useful information to activate My Key, Intesa Sanpaolo’s internet banking, and obtain new login credentials” for banking operations and the personal code for making purchases. via the web.
Watch out for the new conditions
For the nearly two and a half million former Ubi customers, however, there may be other changes that are more difficult to notice, at least in the immediate future. Everyone was sent a proposal for a unilateral amendment of the contract: by changing bank, the contractual conditions also change. “These are almost always procedural aspects, but we cannot exclude that among the economic conditions there is not some pejorative, even though the products of the two institutes were already very aligned, so we do not expect big changes” explains Anna Vizzari, an expert in economics. di Altroconsumo, whose advice is to carefully read the communications sent by Intesa, “even if we realize that they are not easy to understand documents”.
But how to understand if fees and commissions will increase? The moment of truth, explains Vizzari, is June: “This month the bank will send its customers the summary document. In these pages there will be a prospectus that will indicate, item by item, the old and new costs”. By studying this document, you will be able to get a precise idea and, those who believe they want to change banks, can do so for free until 31 July under the old conditions.
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