Teaching banks how to protect their older customers - Financial Betrayal by Family and 'Friends'

Teller at a local bank noticed that "Mr Jones" a longtime customer, was acting strangely. Sometimes she appeared confused, and at other times she was suspicious and argumentative. She began to overdraw her account, accusing the bank of losing her standard of value One day, when she appeared at the bank with a stranger and a frightened direct the eye on her face, and withdrew a large total of money, the bank manager grew alarmed and called the Berks shire Office of Aging for help. Was it possible that Mr Jone had become the victim of someone who was exploiting her financially, he wanted to know. If in the way that what could the bank do about it? And by what means could bank employees tell if other older customers were in danger of financial abuse?

Calls like the above grew more of frequent occurrence during the 1980s, as the aging population of Berks shire Pennsylvania, grew larger and the community became more aware of the urgencys of its elderly citizens. "We ne help to deal with our somewhat old customers," said one banker. "Elderly customers all appear to be to come at lunchtime, the single time business people have to do their banking. They all herd into the bank on Social Security Day, giving our teller the `Third of the Month Blues' They oftentimes seemed confused about how to use the bank's services." in what way could employees tell if someone was suffering from dementia? What should they do if they suspected that someone was a victim of financial exploitation?

The Office of Aging realized that the vexed questions being raised by banks proffered a real opportunity to collaborate with tribe in the business sector to raise the quality of life for older citizens. Because many financial abuses directed against the somewhat advanced in life involve large sums of coin being withdrawn from bank savings accounts, banks were in a position to identify and report suspicious interactions. With training from professionals in the field of aging, bank personnel could function as "gatekeepers" (people who are in regular contact with the somewhat advanced in life and can spot problems affecting their welfare) by dint of reporting problems to the aging services network.

Thus began a unique partnership between the Office of Aging and local bankers to train bank teller customer representatives, and managers in what way to identify older customers who might be having difficulties that could lead to financial abuse and in what manner to report it. The partnership expanded to include the police, other businesses and educational settings.

At this time, Pennsylvania did not have an adult protective services law that would guarantee anonymity of reporters (such a law was enacted in 1987) Banks were touched that if they developed policies and courses to protect elderly from exploitation, they might violate these customers' rights to privacy, autonomy, and confidentiality. It was imperative that the program be built upon a foundation of trust in the way that that financial institutions and other professionals would have feeling comfortable in reporting their be of importance tos and confident about how reports would be handled.

Training upon Needs of Older Customers

The training began as a series of 3-hour workshops sponsored through the local branch of the American Institute of Banking (AIB). Initially, the Berks shire Office of Aging brought in professionals from the Pennsylvania corporation of Optometry to sensitize bank employee to vision and sensory losse that many older family experience. Now the agency is capable of providing the training upon its own. At the same time, the AIB understood the importance of the older customer and evolveed a 9-hour curriculum called "The Older Bank Customer." In greatest in quantity cases, banking personnel teach the course, which is optional, on the other hand given the ongoing relationship with the Office of Aging, this curriculum is also taught by means of the Office of Aging in Berks shire Though the emphasis changes depending upon the need of the assemblage the course generally covers the following areas:

Session 1: Demographics of Aging in American Society. This session direct the eyes at the national, state, and local demographics relating to the somewhat advanced in life It provides information about the somewhat advanced in life themselves, who cares for them, and the mobility and vocation issues of their caregivers. It plants the stage for the following sessions.

Session 2: The Aging Proces This session explores the normal changes that appear with aging, such as social and sensory changes, and in what manner they affect the independence of older race Participants undergo experiential training with adaptive aids to simulate hearing and vision los of that kind as writing with their fingers taped together to simulate los of manual dexterity owed to arthritis and trying to walk with popcorn in their shoe Participants say they not ever really understood the physical point to be solved [i]or[/i] settleds older people face before this, and that this training has sensitized them not solitary to the special needs of their older customers on the other hand to the needs of their older relatives as well.

Teller and customer service representatives learn by what mode to communicate effectively with visually or hearing impaired customers. They also acquire tips on how to inform older customers of bank services of the like kind as direct deposit, power of attorney, pay-by-phone, and automated teller machine cards. In addition, bank managers are shown by what mode to make the bank environment more accessible to somewhat old customers, such as setting aside certain hours of the day for seniors, having individual teller line devoted to cashing Social Security checks, and using templates to write checks. individual bank is even setting up courier service to an somewhat advanced in life housing facility being constructed across the street