Bizum is preparing to make a big leap next year. The Spanish mobile instant transfer platform, owned by large national banks, plans to launch a new service in 2026 that will allow people to pay directly in physical stores, according to industry sources. The initiative is part of the offensive by European institutions to reduce dependence on Visa and Mastercard and will allow customers to make payments without going through the platforms of the two American giants.
Bizum’s plans include the launch of a new mobile application, known as Bizum Pay. It will be similar to the payment platforms that Apple or Android already have, but in this case it will be directly connected to the customer’s Bizum (and this to their bank account), without the need to have a card as an intermediary. With this app, customers will be able to pay directly at the POS of commercial activities. Alternatively, the integration of this new functionality into bank apps is also being evaluated, as already happens with instant transfers.
The idea of creating direct payment solutions through Bizum has been on the minds of banks for years. In fact, during the pandemic, when the use of this application skyrocketed, they have already tested solutions with companies. They have since collaborated with the Bank of Spain to create a more user-friendly solution, which will be released in the coming months. Bizum currently already offers a payment gateway for e-commerce and also for donations. A spokesperson for Bizum did not respond to questions from this newspaper.
This leap represents a Copernican shift in Bizum’s business model. The platform plans to charge businesses a fee, but less than Visa and Mastercard, which have taken advantage of their dominance to raise fees in recent years. It will also offer fewer intermediaries and will try to use this strategy to add businesses to Bizum and increase its critical mass.
Banks have repeatedly complained about the high operating costs associated with managing over three million transactions a day, so much so that they are considering establishing limits or applying a cost. Introducing pricing to businesses means opening a new avenue of earning without entailing a cost for consumers, which is key to its success.
Bizum’s move comes at a time of explosion of payment systems in Europe. The Old Continent has once again put strategic autonomy at the center in the sectors most dependent on the United States, such as defense, but also the management of payments in the banking field. European entities, which depend on the infrastructure of American giants such as Visa and Mastercard, which have put upward pressure on both businesses and banks with fees. They try to offer alternatives produced in Europe which increase competition in the sector and do not lead to interruption of service if card providers decide to cut service to Europe.
In parallel, in addition to exploring physical payment solutions, the bank is also negotiating to create a large pan-European payments platform. They seek to create a European Bizum that allows the consumer to make an instant transfer with their mobile phone from one country to another. After a failed attempt in 2020, they are currently negotiating a deal to interconnect the different platforms in each country. In June the two large banking groups agreed to work in this direction, the EuroPA initiative (made up of the Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Nordic initiatives) and the European Payments initiative, made up mainly of French and German institutions, which launched its own platform, Wero, a few months ago. In this sense, Spanish banks have already taken a step forward and allow banks in Italy or Portugal to create Bizum; and the idea is that the interconnection between all systems will be born during 2026. The ongoing negotiations concern the technical issues of how to connect each platform, as well as the possibility of establishing a tariff for their interconnection.
The parties therefore seek to have a unified system of transfers between individuals, but their goals are set at more ambitious goals. Precisely in the establishment of pan-European payment systems in businesses and also between businesses. Together with Bizum’s initiative, the Franco-German platform Wero is also working to open its services to e-commerce this year and also in physical establishments by 2026.
