For many years BBVA has supported the innovation ecosystem to jointly transform the financial industry. It has worked with fintech startups, identifying mutually beneficial opportunities that help the companies themselves to grow and develop while bringing the best and most innovative solutions to BBVA customers around the world.
It is not enough for banks simply to offer internet banking or have a mobile app any more. The digital age means – rightly – that the customer should be able to do what they want with their money and data, how they want, and in a way that suits them best. Progressive banks like BBVA understand that technology is blurring industry lines and that in the future it may not be traditional banks that can offer the best product, solution, or advice to customers and clients.
BBVA began its transformation process more than 20 years ago, driven by an ambition to put innovation and technology at the heart of the bank. Seven years later, the first Open Space was built at the bank’s offices in Madrid. Following this, in 2009, the annual Open Talent competition was launched, connecting the bank with leading fintech startups from around the world. In 2011, these projects were formalised into what is now Open Innovation.
Open Innovation’s mission was to help the bank meet the challenges that came with the digital revolution, and to build partnerships that can develop new products and services, not just for the bank, but just as importantly for its customers and clients. Open Innovation is at the very heart of BBVA’s strategy – to transition from a bank to a digital bank and ultimately into a digital company. For the fintech startups BBVA works with, access to customers, partners, and investors can be invaluable, and would often be difficult to achieve without external support. There are several different programmes and initiatives through which BBVA partners with fintechs: Open Space, Open Talks, Open Summit, Connection Festival, Fast Track, and – the most recent addition – Open Marketplace.
Open Space
Open Space is the physical space where the entrepreneurial world connects with the bank. There are three Open Space locations – at BBVA’s headquarters in Madrid, and at offices in Bogota and Mexico. Open Space locations are hubs for innovation and knowledge exchange. In Madrid, there have been three venture capital firms and nine startups working alongside teams at BBVA from 2015, while there are five startups based at the Open Space in Mexico. More startups are expected to join Open Spaces soon.
Open Talent
Since its launch ten years ago, more than 6,000 startups have participated in BBVA Open Talent, the world’s biggest fintech competition. The aim of the competition is to find disruptive and effective solutions with the potential to revolutionise banking. It has welcomed startups from more than 90 countries and awarded €1.65 million in prize money to date.
Open Innovation has sparked several successful “collisions” to date, mostly notably with Bdeo Tech and BBVA’s first Latin American acquisition, Openpay. Upon discovering Openpay through Open Talent, in 2017 BBVA acquired the Mexican startup, which offers a platform to process physical and electronic payments online or in its mobile app and has since established itself as a major innovator in the payments space in Mexico. Particularly helpful for small businesses, Openpay offers various payment methods, from processing of non-present credit or debit cards to acceptance of cash payments through its Paynet web throughout Latin America, to bank transfers, and even payments with loyalty points. Openpay also supports the financial inclusion of non-banked businesses. Last year Openpay partnered with leading Chinese payments platform Alipay. The partnership now enables Alipay users to pay in Mexico without switching to Openpay itself.
Colombian startup Movizzon – an Open Talent finalist in 2016 – has expanded to Chile and Central America since partnering with BBVA. Gartner also included Movizzon in its list of the five best emerging suppliers in Latin America. Movizzon automatically interacts with electronic bank accounts, using all normal functions as if a client were, and when detecting unusual behaviour records it and passes it on the bank manager; last year it lowered clients’ error rates by 50 per cent.
Open Talks
Held at locations across Spain, Turkey, and the LATAM region, BBVA Open Talks is a global events programme that brings cutting-edge technology and finance experts together to share knowledge. The talks see distinguished speakers come in from companies such as Google, Telefonica, and 11:FS to share insights on starting and growing businesses with the local entrepreneur ecosystem.
Open Summit
Open Summit is BBVA’s principal international fintech event, connecting drivers and innovators that are transforming the financial landscape. For several years, it has been held annually in Madrid. This year BBVA will bring together startups, corporates, policymakers, and influencers for two separate events – the first in Mexico in May, and the second in Madrid in October.
Last year’s event explored how startups and corporates can collaborate better, and saw more than 60 speakers and in excess of 800 attendees from 30 countries descend on the Spanish capital to hear pitches from fintechs and insights from industry leaders.
Open Marketplace
The most recently-launched initiative is Open Marketplace. This is a platform through which BBVA business units and fintechs can work together to create connections that add value. Through Open Marketplace, these connections can grow into projects and real partnerships that deliver mutual benefit for both the startups involved and the bank – ultimately bringing new products to BBVA’s customers.
Connection Festival
The aim of Connection Festival is to identify the best fintech startups from those who have been selected through BBVA’s Seed Program.
Seed is the methodology by which Open Innovation identifies BBVA’s business units’ commercial and strategic needs, before scouting for startups that best meet these needs via the bank’s network of partners, Open Talent, and other avenues. The startups selected then present to individual BBVA business units that choose which ones will be invited to Connection Festival to pitch for the opportunity to work with BBVA on a proof of concept.
Fast Track
Fast Track was first launched in Mexico in 2017 as Open Sandbox, and later expanded to BBVA regions under the name Fast Track. Fast Track is an Open Innovation methodology that aims to streamline BBVA’s processes and the startups it engages to offer with solutions that improve products and services for clients.
Open Innovation will continue to be a driving force in the year ahead for BBVA, connecting and collaborating with the fintech community to bring the best and most innovative products and services to its customers.
