Withdrawing cash to become even easier for Coop Pank clients in Coop stores
27.08.2019
The nationwide service launched in Estonia last year which allows cash to be withdrawn from any Coop store checkout is set to become even easier: Coop Pank clients will no longer have to make at least a €1 purchase to use the service, and the service fees for clients of other banks will be standardised.
Coop Pank’s Head of Everyday Banking Teet Kerem says that the previous system relied on rules set by MasterCard, whereby a minimum purchase of €1 had to be made in order to withdraw cash. However, Coop Pank has developed a solution that it is gradually introducing in Coop stores, thanks to which the bank’s clients no longer have to make a purchase in order to withdraw cash and allowing them to withdraw as much as €1000 compared to the previous limit of €100. As part of this update, Coop Pank clients will also be able to deposit money in their accounts in stores. “Our aim is to offer, via a commercial platform, all of the basic banking services people need, first and foremost in places all the other banks have abandoned in the last 20 years,” Kerem explained. “But it’s important in doing so that we’re not just looking to fill a void, but to create new and improved solutions for our clients. Take opening an account online, for example, and withdrawing and depositing cash in Coop stores – to our clients they’re without doubt the most important developments we’ve come up with in the last couple of years.”
Paavo Truu, a member of the management board of Coop Estonia’s central association, says that clients of all other banks will also be able to withdraw cash in Coop stores, provided their banks have enabled them to do so. “Up till now fees have varied from bank to bank, but starting from 1 September there’ll be one standardised fee for all banks, which is €0.69,” he explained. Since withdrawing cash using other banks’ cards is still reliant on MasterCard rules, clients wishing to do so will still have to make the minimum €1 purchase.
Coop Pank began offering cash services in Coop stores in May 2018, and since then all other major banks have joined the scheme. Exactly a year later, in May 2019, Coop Pank made it possible for clients to also deposit cash in their accounts in stores. The major shareholders in Coop Pank are the regional consumer cooperatives and central association of Coop, which has a sales network of 330 stores around Estonia.