Dear Bizumer, we are sorry, but we cannot attribute the credit for the best invention of the century to a single person. And the fact is that Bizum is nobody’s idea, it belongs to everyone, it is the result of the collaboration of an entire sector. Already in 2015, 20 banking entities, Spanish together with their 3 associations (AEB, CECA and UNACC) and the 3 payment infrastructures (Redsys, Cecabank and Iberpay) joined forces to design and create the (best) platform with which to streamline everyday payments and in which now almost 40 banking brands operating in our country and Andorra participate. Pure Spain brand exported to the world, with more than 27 million active users.
Before Bizum, Spain was one of the countries with the highest use of cash, although card payments were growing year after year (and continue to do so). This, together with the high use of smartphones, with a ratio of mobile lines per inhabitant among the highest in Europe, was the perfect environment for the creation of a mobile payment solution that users, our beloved Bizumers, could use in their daily lives as an alternative to cash.
So that you can learn a little more about the origin of Bizum, we are going to show you how Bizum has been advancing and facilitating our daily life.
It all began in 2015, when there was an agreement between the various banking associations and financial institutions to develop a sector initiative for immediate transfers that would revolutionize payments in Spain. Bizum as such did not yet exist, but this was the prelude to everything and the framework in which it was designed.
In June 2016, with the project already planned and developed by tireless working groups, the company Bizum was officially founded. In October of this year, the P2P (person-to-person) payment service was launched with the participation of about twenty banking institutions.
This launch marked the beginning of a new era in the way money transfers are made universally, quickly and easily.
The success of Bizum was such that the company continued to explore the expansion of services. A year later, in 2017, Bizum launched the option to make donations to social entities. This move allowed users to contribute to charitable causes in a direct and uncomplicated way, increasing the platform’s usefulness and favoring user solidarity.
2018 was a key year for Bizum. The platform surpassed one million users and 10 million transactions were recorded. In addition, the expression “Make me a Bizum” became more popular than that famous brand of handkerchiefs, becoming a common expression in our day-to-day lives.
At the end of 2019, the extension of Bizum reached e-commerce. It was then that Bizumers were able to make online purchases as easily and quickly as in private-to-private transfers. Over time, Bizum payments in e-commerce have grown exponentially and today Bizumers can pay at around 70,000 online merchants.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 accelerated the adoption of Bizum, which reached 10 million users. In addition, the QR code collection and payment functionality was launched in more than 11,000 Loterías y Apuestas del Estado points of sale.
In 2021, Bizum continued its growth with more than 5 million e-commerce purchases and the integration of more than 25,000 merchants. In addition, more and more entities joined the Bizum family, reaching 30 banking brands on the platform. This year also marked important milestones in terms of transactions and expansion of the service.
2022 brought with it the accumulation of one billion transactions. A success that also allowed the arrival of a more international Bizum with the adhesion of the Andorran bank.
A very interesting NFC in-store payment pilot project was also launched and Bizum joined EMPSA, to explore avenues of interconnectivity with solutions in other countries.
Non-stop success!
In 2023, Bizum reached 20 million users and more than 58,000 merchants started accepting payments through the platform. New functionalities such as digital identification in online environments with Bizum and 900 million transactions in the year proved that Bizum is much more than a payment solution, Bizum is a universal enabler.
2024 starts with the plan to introduce new options in Bizum such as subscriptions and recurring payments, extend the activity to face-to-face payments and launch interoperability with other countries, starting with Italy and Portugal for person-to-person payments.
In addition, it is expected to reach 28 million users and 1 billion transactions, a success in innovation in the field of digital payments.
In short, since its inception, Bizum has not only changed the way Spaniards manage their daily finances, Bizum has offered a fast, secure and easy-to-use solution at all levels. With each milestone reached, Bizum continues to demonstrate its commitment to innovation, financial inclusion and the constant improvement of its services.
And that’s all, which is no small feat, Bizumers!
