ZAGREB, 24 March 2022 - Banks have started with preparations or have already introduced technical solutions to secure access to the basic payments account for refugees from Ukraine, the Croatian Banking Association (HUB) has said, noting that according to available information, the number of such requests is not big.

The Croatian National Bank (HNB) on Monday informed banks based in Croatia that it expected them to provide free access to a basic payments account, including ten free-of-charge national and international transactions in kuna and euros, for refugees from Ukraine legally staying in Croatia.

The HNB said that one of the most severe consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was the resettlement of a large number of civilians. In those conditions, access to basic financial services is a necessary precondition for the normalisation of life for refugees and their integration, the central bank said.

In response to a query from Hina, HUB said that it did not have detailed statistics at present but that according to available information, the number of requests for a basic payments account was not significant.

"As before, banks have started preparations or have already implemented technical solutions to enable access to the basic payments account for Ukrainian refugees," HUB said, noting that the basic payments account enables refugees to use a kuna current account and a related debit card. They can also make payments and withdraw money at bank offices or on ATMs and use internet or mobile banking.

In addition to the minimum ten free national or international transactions in kuna and euros, some banks will offer the refugees additional facilities.

So far, 9,500 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Croatia.

Business: For more, check out our business section.

A brand new and far more efficient way of banking is almost ready for its release onto the market in Croatia, thanks to a partnership between Croatian Telecom (HT) and Zagrebačka banka.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Bernard Ivezic writes on the 6th of June, 2019, with less than twenty days to go until the summer calendar officially begins, the first local mobile bank in the Republic of Croatia, developed by Croatian telecom (Hrvatski telekom) and Zagrebačka banka, is now ready for testing.

This service, called Telekom Banking, comes directly from the largest telecom and largest bank in Croatia, and the announcement is that it will be set up and ready online during the summer. Goran Lončarić, head of Telekom Banking at Croatian Telecom, confirmed that the mobile bank is now ready to be tested out.

"We're now launching the Telekom Banking pilot for friends and family, who will be the first to use the most advanced digital bank in Croatia," said Lončarić.

He also published a photo of his card featuring HT's (T), Zagrebačka banka's and Maestro's logos. Apparently, Deutsche Telekom has already reserved the domain telekombankarstvo.hr where the service will be officially launched.

HT and Zagrebačka banka have both confirmed that the service is ready for public launch and that they're still working on testing mobile applications.

"Users are currently participating in the pilot project and we can say that we're very happy with their first reactions, and those services will become available during the summer," they stated from HT, adding that the application (app) will bring with it a whole host of other innovations.

HT's and Zagrebačka banka's partnership in Croatia is very similar to the one that the Romanian operator and a member of the DT group, Telekom Romania, realised on this market alongside one of the ten largest banks in Poland, Alior Bank. Their service can be found on the telekombanking.ro website and includes access to mobile and web banking by Poland's Alior Bank.

It's a very complex yet simple product, which includes current, savings and foreign currency accounts, as well as cards. For users who receive 1,000 kuna per month, it's all free.

It includes free and unlimited cash withdrawals from any ATM in the entire world, it includes both mobile and web banking, as well as the ability to view your last three transactions without having to go through the log in process.

The system also offers its users absolutely full control over PIN and locking their cards, and it supports both NFC and QR payments, as well as direct payments via email and mobile phone numbers. Lending possibilities are also on offer.

It is not yet known whether or not the exact same service which is offered by Telekom Romania and Alior bank will be offered here in Croatia by HT and Zagrebačka banka.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and lifestyle pages for much more.

The highly respected Global Finance magazine has proclaimed Croatia's Zagrebačka banka, a member of the UniCredit Group, the best Croatian bank in 2019.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 22nd of May, 2019, the editors of Global Finance have given this prestigious award to Zagrebačka banka after extensive consultations with financial managers, bankers, bank advisors and analysts from around the world, as such, the best respective bank of each country in Central and Eastern Europe (SIE) has been selected.

"We're proud to have received this prestigious award from a reputable institution such as Global Finance. In the forthcoming period, we will continue to focus on the needs of our clients by introducing new technologies, relying on a balanced business model and belonging to the UniCredit Group. We remain committed to the creation of a stimulating environment for our clients, employees and the economic and social progress of the company we're engaged in,'' said Miljenko Živaljić, CEO of Zagrebacka banka.

UniCredit received recognition in the following categories during this year's Best Bank Awards magazine by Global Finance:

The best Bank in Central and Eastern Europe

The best bank in Bulgaria

The best bank in the Republic of Croatia

Gianfranco Bisagni and Niccolò Ubertalli, the executive directors of UniCredit for the CEE region, said: "It's a great pleasure to acknowledge this remarkable impact throughout the CEE region, especially Bulgaria and Croatia. We've won these awards thanks to the efforts and commitment of our employees towards our clients, providing them with our simple, successful, pan-European commercial banks. We're glad that we have the opportunity to share UniCredit's success in the region of Central and Eastern Europe.''

These awards are awarded on the basis of many factors, including: Asset growth, profitability, geographic reach, strategic relationships, business development, product innovations, and opinion of capital analysts, credit rating analysts, bank consultants and other banking experts, and it's clear that in all of these categories, Croatia's Zagrebacka banka proudly stands out.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and lifestyle pages for much more.