Irish
Bank of Ireland targets the 160,000+ Polish people living in Ireland
By Finfacts Team
Oct 30, 2006, 12:58

Bank of Ireland today announced that the lines are now open to its new Polish Language Telephone Helpdesk (1890 365 444).  The Helpdesk offers a range of banking services to the Polish community in Ireland in their own language.   It is estimated that there are now over 160,000 Polish people living in Ireland and this figure is set to continue to grow.

In July 2005, as part of its Customer Programme, Bank of Ireland delivered what it says was the first ever programme of initiatives in Ireland to address the financial needs of the growing migrant population. Initiatives included the recruitment of bi-lingual staff and the translation of key financial services and product literature into three different languages.  This new Polish Language Telephone Helpdesk firmly establishes Bank of Ireland as the leading provider of financial services to the migrant community in Ireland.

Commenting on the launch: Nicola Brady, Marketing Manager – Personal Segments said; “Having started this journey last year with the recruitment of bilingual staff and the translation of our key brochures, we see this as a natural progression, offering a choice of channels which reflects the needs of all of our customers.  With 37% of Polish people we surveyed saying they have poor English our new Telephone Helpdesk will give them easy access to our products and services in their own language.

Through our comprehensive research with the migrant community our understanding of this growing segment of the population has deepened, giving us the ability to deliver meaningful initiatives and ultimately attract high volumes of new customers”, she added.

Also released today are findings from new research with Polish migrants conducted on behalf of Bank of Ireland.  Close to 1,000 Polish people living in Ireland were surveyed in July 2006 to establish key insights such as levels of integration, satisfaction with life in Ireland, issues they face and their financial services needs.

Ireland’s Polish Community

-  75% of Polish people surveyed are under 30 years of age and almost half have 3^rd level education.

-  One in three had worked in other countries before and the average length of time Polish migrants intend to stay here is 6.5 years.

-  Over half are married and 36% are here with family members, with a further 14% saying that family will join them soon.

-  Almost all live in rented accommodation but one-third say they intend to buy property in Ireland.

-  The primary sectors for employment were manufacturing (18%), construction (16%), trade (11%), leisure/hospitality (8%), and IT (6%). 

Integration 

-     Polish people are more likely to be happy living in Ireland than other nationalities and 75% say that the Irish make them feel welcome.

-     42% say they feel integrated and 33% socialise with Irish friends.

-     Polish people were more likely to socialise with Irish friends than other nationalities, however, the majority still socialise with friends from their own country living here. 

 Financial Behaviours 

-     Good savings culture among Polish people and the general principle upheld is save half, spend half.

-     Majority open a bank account within one month of arriving in Ireland.

-     37% of Polish people rated their own English as poor and 61% have a preference for banking in their own language.