Deutsche Bank actually wanted to merge millions of customer data on a common platform with the acquired Postbank by the end of the year. Now she had to admit: This goal can no longer be achieved.
The IT problems in integrating Postbank customers will continue to concern Deutsche Bank in the coming year. According to Deutsche Bank, the goal of combining all data from the two banks after the takeover of Postbank is no longer achievable.
Processing the remaining residues is “complex”
“We have made great progress in processing the backlog of customer inquiries since the summer – thanks in part to more than 800 additional workers for these tasks,” a Deutsche Bank spokesman told the dpa news agency. Processing the remaining backlogs is complex and sometimes takes more time. “We will therefore finish processing some of these cases at the beginning of 2024.”
As part of an IT conversion, twelve million Postbank customers will be brought together in several waves with seven million Deutsche Bank customers in Germany on a common platform. However, the integration proved to be difficult and lengthy. Complaints from Postbank customers have increased in the current year. For example, they reported that they were temporarily unable to access their accounts, accounts were blocked or direct debits were no longer honored. Customer service was difficult to reach or unable to solve problems.
Seizure protection accounts cause problems
The transfer of seizure protection accounts, in which indebted people can protect certain assets from seizure so that they have money available for rent and electricity, food and medication, for example, also proved difficult.
The ongoing problems even brought the financial regulator Bafin into action in September. She identified “significant impairments in the processing of customer business at Postbank” and called on the bank to “remedy the restrictions in customer service as quickly as possible”. A special representative from Bafin has been monitoring progress since then.
The Deutsche Bank boss’s goal is not to be met
Deutsche Bank boss Christian Sewing publicly apologized a little later and promised that the problems at Postbank, which belongs to the group, would be resolved by the end of the year, a requirement that cannot now be met.
Customers who were affected by delays in seizure requests can now apply online for up to 1,000 euros in compensation via the Postbank website. The damage must have been caused by delayed processing in connection with a seizure, bankruptcy or when setting up or deregistering a seizure protection account. Customers must provide evidence such as reminder costs or late payment interest to prove that they have suffered damage.