IBCB Common Commitment of Care

In2019, the IBCB launched the Common Commitment of Care with its Member Banks, which provides for improved services for customers (and their families) who have experienced a bereavement. This includes each of the IBCB’s member bank’s commitment to a dedicated Bereavement webpage, a bereavement guide and help in accessing available funds in accounts to cover funeral costs. Feedback from key stakeholders the following year indicated that the Common Commitment of Care had made a positive difference. In summer of 2022, the Common Commitment of Care was updated. It now includes dedicated phone lines and email addresses for bereaved customers, within each of the member banks. It has also been awarded the NALA Plain English mark which means it helps bereaved customers understand the document the first time they read it through using clear short sentences and everyday words.

The IBCB continues to engage with important stakeholders and customer advocates on this initiative such as Money Advice and Budgeting services (MABS), The Irish Hospice Foundation

(IHF) the Coroners Court, and the Irish Association of Funeral Directors (IAFD).

As a result of discussion with the IAFD in 2022 the IBCB worked with its member banks to better understand the purpose and acceptance of the Death Notification Form (DNF), which may simplify the process for a bereaved customer when notifying the bank of a bereavement.

You can read more about the IBCB and the Common Commitments of Care at https:// www.irishbankingcultureboard.ie/workprogramme/bereaved-customers/