Outrage as bank insists bedridden 96-year-old woman must appear for ID verification

A bank in Mexico has been accused of lacking sensitivity after insisting that a bedridden 96-year-old woman be brought to one of its branches to confirm her identity in order to release her pension, the country’s media reported.

Photos and video clips of an elderly woman being transported to a BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) bank branch in Oaxaca, Mexico, on an ambulance stretcher have been going viral on Mexican social media and sparking outrage among the general public. 

The 96-year-old woman, Fidelia Vásquez Nuño, cannot move due to her advanced age and various illnesses, but despite her son’s attempts to file the necessary paperwork with the bank to verify her identity, she was asked to be brought to a branch to correct a glitch in her biometric registration that had prevented her from cashing her pension for six months.

“It’s an outrage. We’ve submitted everything: official documents, powers of attorney, and her legal representative. Yet, they’ve demanded that she come in person, even though she’s clearly not fit enough,” said Gilberto Ayala, the woman’s son. 

“The BBVA branch manager told us that the pension payment is suspended and that we need to comply with more requirements to be able to reactivate the payment. It’s an ordeal,” he added.

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“They’ve asked us to go from office to office,” the woman’s daughter, Ernestia, added. “They tell us that her facial features didn’t match those on the previous record, without considering that my mother is 96 years old. Of course she’s changed physically; who doesn’t change in decades?”

The elderly woman’s family also told reporters that the bank offered no alternatives to avoid relocation, despite the woman’s delicate condition. Photos and videos of her waiting to have her biometric details checked by the bank have been circulating online for days and have attracted widespread criticisms. Many accused the bank of lacking empathy and violating the rights of the elderly.

Following their treatment by the bank, the 96-year-old woman’s family filed complaints with the National Human Rights Commission, the Ombudsman’s Office of the people of Oaxaca, and the National Commission and Defence of Users of Financial Services.