Wizink: IT glitches and complaints over how it operates

Wizink promises simplicity but delivers two websites and glitches

Is it worth signing up for the Wizink card or account when the bank's own operations keep falling apart? The bank that brands itself as "senzillo" (simple) has been dragging a string of problems since its migration from Popular-e: two different websites to manage the same products, transactions that fail to appear, statements that won't download, and a customer service team that, according to several affected customers, cannot access the data the other side does have. The complaint is not an isolated case. It keeps repeating.

What exactly is going wrong at Wizink

The pattern repeats itself in almost every account. Charges from part of the month vanish from the list even though the amount does show up. The website only displays the last ten card transactions. A statement closed on 18 July was still impossible to download six days later. And over a weekend, a login error redirected to a message that gave the botched job away: "Someone has forgotten to set a variable correctly."

The migration from Popular-e adds another layer. There are two websites to manage the same products, and customers who came over from Citibank find the bank asking them to justify transactions it should already have on record. The official answer, according to those affected, is that they cannot verify it because of the switch from Popular-e to Wizink. Even though they are the same bank, mind you.

Customer service: two departments that don't talk to each other

Wizink's customer service is not Popular-e's. Each side seems unaware of what the other does or unable to access its data. When one customer asked for a written response to a request under Spain's anti-money laundering law, the answer was phone or email only, as they cannot send letters. The promised email never arrived.

There's more. An email address for complaints returns an error. When calling to ask for another one, the reply is that it is that address, full stop. The result: claiming an unrefunded amount means resorting to fax in the twenty-first century. And in one of those calls, faced with the documentation the customer provided, the response was that since they had no record of it, it must be fake.

The fine print on the cards: minimum payment without warning

The most repeated trap is not on the website, it's in the contract. Even if you apply for a card with full payment at the end of the month, the bank can silently assign a minimum payment arrangement. That means fixed fees of 18 euros and interest that becomes entrenched month after month. One customer describes paying the balance in full, then interest from the closing date to the payment, then another interest bill the trinc month. The debt never closes.

The origin of much of the customer base is not a choice. They are customers inherited from Citibank who have had a working Visa Oro card for fifteen years. Today they describe that same piece of plastic as a piece of cardboard that scares them. The comparison with the previous era does not fare well.

And the 0.75% savings account?

The flagship product for attracting deposits is a savings account at 0.75% APR. The problem, according to the analysis that started the discussion, is that signing up comes at a price. It is no simpler than when it was just Banco Popular-e, and direct competitors offer similar terms without those complications.

Some argue that for a fixed-term deposit or an account with no extra conditions, the bank delivers. Transfers are slow, but they arrive. The problem appears when you take out any other product. That's where the ordeal begins.

The context: Popular and its solvency under suspicion

At some point the discussion drifts to the parent company. A report was cited attributing a 15% probability of default to Popular, a figure the bank asked to be reviewed and which was corrected first to 3.1% and then to 1.4%. The episode fuelled distrust of the whole group.

The conclusion that prevails among those affected is uncomfortable: the terms are not good enough to offset the problems. The difference with the competition is so small that it does not justify the wear and tear. And meanwhile, the bank keeps selling simplicity. Simplicity, with a z.