Bizum, an "exceptional" success story in the banking sector that turns ten years old

BarcelonaIn the Anglo-Saxon language it is common for the names of major commercial brands to become verbs and become part of popular slang, even being accepted as dictionary definitions. Googling or tweeting are just two examples of a practice much less common in Romance languages. But a few years ago, a concept has been fully integrated into the daily lives of most Catalans. Doing a Bizum is an expression that already sounds familiar and refers to a project that academics and financial sector sources consider an "exceptional" success story in the Spanish banking sector.

Bizum was incorporated as a company on June 27, 2016, in Madrid, under the name Sociedad de Procedimientos de Pago SL. The initiative began to be developed the previous year, in 2015, when various banking associations and financial entities agreed to develop a sectoral initiative for immediate transfers between individuals. Over time, the success has been resounding: the platform – integrated into the applications of all the main banks in the country – now has 32 million users in Spain and Andorra and exceeded 1.1 billion operations in 2025. 70% of the Spanish population over 18 years of age uses Bizum, and of these, eight out of ten are active users who make at least one transaction per month.

The reasons for its fame are diverse. The most obvious of all is that it covered a "universal and daily" need, as pointed out by sector sources. Before the advent of Bizum, payments between people had to be made through cash withdrawals at ATMs, through transfers using the platforms of banking entities, or by using payment instruments such as credit cards. "The use of Bizum represents a great saving, both for users and for banking entities, which despite not generating income from the service, have significant associated cost savings compared to traditional systems," points out Benja Anglès, professor of financial and tax law at the UOC.

In fact, the collaborative will of the different Spanish entities was also key. "It is a solution that does not arise from an individual entity; this has facilitated access for all users and has created a much faster network effect," financial sources point out. In the eyes of Armando Salvador, professor at EAE Business School Barcelona, it is a "quite exceptional" case, especially because we are talking about entities "that compete with each other".

In addition to these factors, academics also refer to the platform's technological base – whoever has a mobile phone can have Bizum – and to innovation, since it is not necessary to open a virtual wallet: a bank account and an associated phone number are enough. All this, in a context of necessity where banks were struggling to maintain their daily relationship with the client. "Then, the big tech companies, the fintech and other payment solutions could take over this layer of daily use," states Salvador.

Potential for growth

Bizum has made a name for itself among individuals, but the company's ambitions go beyond user-to-user transfers. Beyond continuing to consolidate its network in Spain, the company has set two main objectives: to extend its presence to physical retail and to facilitate payments between individuals throughout Europe.

"We want to complete the range of services so that a person can choose Bizum at any time," says Lorena Poza, the company's communication and marketing manager, in an interview with ARA. Regarding the first goal, Bizum already launched in stores, bars, and restaurants in May to present itself as a payment alternative to conventional debit and credit cards. And although the start was at half speed, the company expects most businesses in Spain to allow payments with the platform by the end of 2026.

The other battle, which has to do with cross-border payments, is more complex. The ambition is to extend the network to more countries and expand payment options to the entire EU, in an attempt to compete with American giants like Visa or Mastercard. Although regulation at the European level for a Union of Savings and Capital is progressing gradually, Bizum has already reached an agreement with providers from twelve European countries to provide citizens with new payment tools by the end of 2027.

The challenge of competing with the sector's multinationals, however, is enormous. "The most likely scenario is that Bizum and cards will coexist: Bizum can gain share in everyday operations, local commerce, and digital payments where the consumer seeks immediacy, while Visa and Mastercard will continue to be very strong in international payments, credit, guarantees, travel, and universal acceptance," says Salvador, from EAE Business School. Good proof of this is that the average ticket for cards is over 85 euros in Spain, a figure more typical of large purchases. In the case of Bizum, the average amount of each transaction is around 55 euros.