The digital transformation of the world’s banking industry is a critical evolution that’s needed to ensure the sector stays relevant to its customers and clients.

The relationship, amusingly portrayed as a love-in between big banks like BBVA and fintech start-ups, was the subject of special Valentines Day show in London last week.

Euromoney recognized Garanti for its groundbreaking personal banking products and services, selecting the bank for its ‘Best Private Banking’ award.  The leading  financial magazine plans to present the award next week in London.

For the third consecutive year, the Houston Rockets and BBVA Compass will be rolling out their annual small business contest on February 19, beginning a new chapter in their focus to foster entrepreneurship.

Last year was a big year – the best year, in fact – for BBVA Compass Retail Banking.  

The retail bank unit, with a 644-branch network, not only realized its best year ever in customer growth, nearly doubling growth from the prior year, it also ramped up productivity and achieved record profits. And if that weren’t enough, the team tripled its in-branch mobile demos, reached the top level of retail network and mortgage origination Net Promoter Score (NPS) and improved workflow both inside and outside the branch.

BBVA Compass was recently named one of the 10 Best National Banks of 2019 by financial site GOBankingRates, a list compiled by extensive research around rates, fees and policies of the top banks in the nation.

BBVA’s commitment to technology has translated into an increase in the number of digital customers, which now represent more than 50% of the bank’s total customers, as well as climbing digital sales, now comprising 41% of all sales. But this digital journey means much more. Digitization has also contributed to greater customer satisfaction and a diminishing drop-out rate – 47% lower among digital customers.

BBVA Compass launched BBVA Compass Financial Tools as part of its mobile app functionality in August 2018 and recently released numbers prove just how valuable customers found the addition.

Garanti blazes a trail in the Turkish credit card market with the launch of Shop&Fly, a new product in the bank’s portfolio that makes life easier for its customers.

Global Finance selected Garanti Bank as the Best Trade Finance Bank in Turkey for the 9th year in a row. The magazine – one of the world’s leading financial publications – recognized the bank’s experience and leadership in foreign trade financing.

U.K. digital banking disruptor Atom has signed up with the Bacs payment system to boost its offering and enable its customers to offer direct debits for the first time.

A digital banking pioneer in Turkey, Garanti was once again chosen as Turkey’s best for digital banking services, according to World Finance magazine.

World Finance magazine has named BBVA as Spain’s best digital bank and the bank with the best app in its ‘World Finance Digital Banking Awards 2018.’ The awards single out those companies that are successfully tackling industry challenges and “driving the digital revolution with dynamic business strategies and groundbreaking technologies.”

Garanti Bank is expanding its unique range of innovative products and services with the rollout of Garanti Stories, a new feature embedded in the Garanti Cep app. Garanti Stories offers services that go beyond traditional banking while fulfilling customers’ basic needs and expectations, delivering an experience similar to the stories on popular social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram.

BBVA created the Global Head of Data position in March 2017 as part of its strategy to make decisions based on data. David Puente took on this new role, leading one of the most disruptive and essential projects in the bank’s transformation.

BBVA has reached an important milestone in its continued drive towards technologically powered banking, with 50% of its customers now using its digital channels.

BBVA is developing an open innovation program in the region, known as fast track, which makes it possible to streamline and make more efficient the processes that the Group develops together with startups to implement new digital products and services for the benefit of customers.

Usually when BBVA Compass posts Fintech Friday, there’s a theme or a trend that the news cycle follows.

The global products and services BBVA is now delivering across its countries, driven by the adoption of re-useable code and technology, are offering a unique and personal experience to customers around the world.

Biometrics, artificial intelligence, blockchain. These are just some of the technologies the bank is using to change the way it engages with its customers and clients, offering new experiences and streamlining processes. Technology adoption and collaboration with the fintech ecosystem is putting BBVA at the forefront of the financial sector’s digital transformation. This is no longer a vision of the future, rather the execution of projects with tangible results. Here are some of BBVA’s most notable achievements in 2018.

No one can predict the future. But calculated forecasts can be made based off of robust information.

BBVA only Spanish bank amongst 15 global finance leaders to join pre-validation pilot focused on error detection in gpi payments.

Peio Belausteguigoitia (Bilbao, 1973) is BBVA Spain’s Head of Business Development. He was previously responsible for Spain’s northern territory, and prior to that ran the eastern territory and was regional director for the northeast.

The unit that he runs is key to the bank’s transformation in Spain. In the year and a half that he has held this position, BBVA has ramped up the number of digital deliveries for private customers – providing them tools to help make better financial decisions – and boosted sales and the number of online customers.

And now, BBVA has created the digital transformation factory for businesses. With a multidisciplinary team of 250 professionals, it facilitates the delivery of digital solutions to customers in more flexible timeframes. The bank recently launched Avalbox, which radically digitizes the guarantor request process; and One View, which helps businesses make more efficient decisions and optimize their cashflow.

There’s a lot to process in this week’s edition of Fintech Friday. Especially when forces are joined and a caveat is issued.

BBVA’s online digital acquisition for corporate customers is not only simple and convenient, but also presents an attractive design. This service was recognized at the 2018 Ibero-American Design Biennial with an award in the ‘Service Design’; category. The design team set out to emulate a real-life exchange with the customer through a digital interface, mimicking the tone and approach that an agent would typically use when tending to a potential customer.

This Fintech Friday has a local spin to it, with a columnist out in the desert making a case for Arizona’s financial technology sector.

Paying bills may be on the top of many people’s monthly to-do lists, but the number that count it among their favorite activities in a given month likely isn’t high. So, why not make it a little easier?

Mortgages and real estate were at the forefront of the fintech news headlines this week in the U.S.

International publication Global Finance selected Garanti Bank as the ‘Best in Mobile Banking’ in the Western Europe category and the ‘Best Digital Bank in Turkey’, establishing the bank’s position as one of the world’s leading financial organizations this year.

The mobile banking app is the fastest-growing communication channel between banks and their customers today. For customers who use their banking app, it has become their preferred and most frequent channel of engagement. Still, most of the functionalities for banking apps are targeted towards servicing with limited new product sales capabilities. So, why don’t banks unleash the full potential of that digital channel?

The BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App is stacked with features and functionalities to make using the bank in your pocket easier, safer and more convenient than ever. But, using the app can be easier when paired with the language in which you’re most comfortable.

The digital transformation is altering the Spanish economy as demonstrated by varying levels of ‘routinization’ in numerous fields and the growing relationship between average salaries and hardware and software use in different occupations. These are some of the conclusions detailed in a report prepared by BBVA Research, which analyzes the impact of the routinization and computerization of different manufacturing sectors, occupations, and employment profiles on the Spanish economy.

U.S. digital bank Simple, which is owned by BBVA, has announced the appointment of David Hijirida as the company’s next Chief Executive Officer. Hijirida, who joins from Amazon, takes over from Dickson Chu who was working as the interim CEO of the bank, and who will remain as the Executive Chairman of Simple’s Board of Directors.

Who will win the battle between fintech and banks in an age where geographic borders matter less and data is a critical factor in business growth? Actually for BBVA Chief Executive Officer Carlos Torres Vila the answer is simple – it will be the customer. This was one of the key messages he delivered in front of several thousand people at the world’s biggest fintech conference in Singapore, earlier today.

News headlines were heavy-hitting this week in the world of U.S. fintechs. The same outlet published two articles this week, one about possible challenges, and one about an ongoing alliance.

BBVA Compass Chief Risk Officer Javier Hernández has a long history with BBVA, the parent of BBVA Compass, having joined the bank in 1998. Since that time, he’s been through financial up and down swings, as well as watched the dawn of the tech revolution in finance – all of which has given him an unbeatable perspective on the function of risk in such times. He sat down with External Communications to tell us more about his role, the evolution of Risk Management and the impact of digital.

The progress of BBVA´s digital transformation is continuing to drive the positive financial returns the business is seeing.

To make customers’ lives easier through innovative products and services, Garanti Bankası has revamped its mobile app (Garanti Cep) and website for SMBs. They now provide a completely new user experience tailored to the financial status and needs of each SMB user.

Many times changing the PIN on your debit card means making a trip to a bank branch, ATM or calling customer service. With BBVA Compass Mobile Banking, it’s as easy as logging into your mobile app.

BBVA’s CEO recently spoke at the DeustoForum in Bilbao. Carlos Torres Vila discussed BBVA’s transformation strategy in front of an audience of the Basque business community and current Deusto University students and alumni. “In today’s world opportunities are digital. That’s why we focus on the digitization of our customers, providing channels that are always available and a simple, agile experience,” he maintained.

According to The Global FinTech Report Q3 2017, global fintech funding has had a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44 percent from 2013 to 2017, with more deals and more investments being made year-over-year.

The BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App has made it easier than ever to take an active role in keeping your money safe and secure, with features that allow you to decide on alerts and enabling or disabling your card.

The way of the future is a cashless society, but it’s not just around the corner. For several years innovators and political leaders have sought to promote a cashless society. It’s a long journey, and there is still a ways to go.

Money20/20 USA, the world’s largest fintech and payments event, took place earlier this week in Las Vegas. The annual event, now in its sixth year, touts itself as the place where the payments, fintech and financial services create and explore the ways consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money.

One of the core themes BBVA has been exploring at the Money20/20 U.S. event this year has been the power of networks.

Türkiye Garanti Bankası A.Ş., released its earnings report dated September 30, 2018. Based on the consolidated financials, Garanti’s asset size reached TL 456.33 billion, while its contribution to the economy through cash and non-cash loans increased to TL 354.75 billion. The Bank’s ROAE (Return on Average Equity) stood at 17.5% and ROAA (Return on Average Assets) reached 2.0%.

The bank brings digital transformation to its business customers with a financial aggregation service. BBVA One View is a real-time platform-agnostic service that allows businesses to control all their domestic accounts, credit accounts and cards from a single dashboard. This service, the first of its class in Spain, goes beyond financial aggregation. Leveraging Big Data technologies, it gathers and organizes information on bank accounts and other financial products, allowing companies to optimize their treasury activity and make decisions more efficiently.

Gone are the days where verifying your identity meant photocopying your ID or showing your face in person alongside your driver’s license. Identity verification is easier thanks to camera-enabled smartphones.

It might seem like a strange question to be asking, but given the multiple elements that drive the success of a bank, and given also that increasingly location is a key determining factor in how you deliver great customer experience, its an important topic.

BBVA Wealth Solutions, Inc. (BWS) today announced the launch of its newest digital investment services product, SmartPath Digital Portfolios, a new digital advice solution designed to help investors achieve their financial goals. SmartPath Digital Portfolios—powered by BNY Mellon’s Pershing—delivers an engaging user interface, along with a selection of managed account options, to provide an optimal advisory investment experience and help investment advisors achieve increased efficiencies and scale.

Peer-to-peer payments, or P2P, have become a popular way of quickly and easily paying family and friends using a mobile device or home computer.

BBVA and Das-Nano demonstrate the potential that can come out of alliances between small and big business. Veridas represents a milestone in the development and launch of innovative payment solutions and user identification at BBVA Group. “Our technological developments are on par with the best in the world,” says Eduardo Azanza, CEO of Veridas.

This week, a quick wrap-up of the top fintech stories:

BBVA has become the first bank in the U.S. to offer a full suite of Banking as a Service products after its BBVA Open Platform program moved out of beta.

BBVA Compass last week announced that it had been named a leader in Customer Service and Ease of Use by Javelin Strategy & Research in their 2018 Mobile Banking Scorecard.

Technology is now disrupting every sector from retail to recruitment, and financial services are no different. What is different is how the incumbent players in the sector choose to respond. Do they collaborate, challenge, or do nothing?

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group this week launched the Bali Fintech Agenda, a set of 12 policy elements aimed at helping member countries harness the benefits and opportunities of rapid advances in financial technology.

The BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App was named a leader in both the ease of use and the customer service categories in Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2018 Mobile Banking Scorecard, marking the fifth consecutive year the app has been recognized as a leader in mobile banking by the independent research firm.

Cash or card? The numbers opting for the latter continue to grow, especially among young people – the millennial generation – and in large cities like Madrid and Barcelona. Additionally, with ever-present POS’s and more and more retailers who accept them, card payments are increasingly frequent, even for low value transactions. These are some of the conclusions reached by BBVA Data & Analytics and reported by BBVA Research in a study about spending habits in Spain: The use of cash is on the decline and digital payments are increasingly popular.

A fintech firm has some big aspirations, and not just in the money it wants to raise, but the company it aspires to be.

Imagine a world where applying for a bank product is made possible by simply downloading the bank’s own mobile app, without having to go into a branch first – or ever.

The paradigm shift that will shape the future of banking was the subject of a keynote address by BBVA’s Derek White in Madrid this week. “BBVA is taking on Big Tech and building the future of banking”, he said.

‘BBVA AvalBox’ is the new BBVA digital tool that allows for the first time in Spain to request, present and consult guarantees online. In doing so, BBVA has simplified a process that up until now could only be carried out in person and on paper.

BBVA’s executive chairman, Francisco González, believes that the success of a company’s transformation is directly related to employee talent. “To have excellent people is a must” he said at the South Summit, an event held in Madrid this Wednesday. “If you don’t have the best people, it’s impossible to advance.”

This open-source blockchain platform has made its way into different sectors of the economy and aims to become the blockchain technology standard in the world of business. BBVA is an official member of the Hyperledger consortium and has used its technological platform to manage blockchain-powered corporate loans.

The software company Salesforce is celebrating its annual meeting Dreamforce, aimed at showcasing excellence when it comes to customer engagement and experiential design.

The BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App is now in its ninth year, and the award-winning app continues to improve functionality with each new release, including its latest update announced last week.

BBVA backed digital banking platform Simple is shaking up the U.S. savings market by introducing a sector leading rate for consumers.

Developments in the U.S. fintech world reached the federal level this week (more so than usual).

For the first time in Spain, BBVA will allow products contracted by customers with other banking institutions to be added to its mobile banking app. The information will be included in Bconomy, the tool that examines the income and spending of users to provide an analysis of their financial health and a more complete view of the state of their finances.

The Mobile Monday series has been exploring the different features and functionality of the BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App. But, did you know that there is another way to discover the many features of the award-winning app? The BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App’s convenient assistance center has the answers you need.

Francisco González weighs in on the challenges of the financial sector to compete with big tech firms in an article published on the ‘Singapore Summit’ website. BBVA Group Executive Chairman participated this weekend in the event – which analyzes Asia’s role as the driver of world growth – and in the annual meeting of the International Advisory Panel (IAP) of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

New York State made a big splash in the fintech news headlines this week, which could (or not) create a ripple effect.

Has this ever happened to you? You’re at dinner and picking up the bill. You reach for your wallet only to discover it’s not there. You’ve forgotten it. With the BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App, what could have been an embarrassing problem is no problem at all.

BBVA’s executive chairman Francisco González took part in a presentation in Madrid of Dr. Peter Weill’s new book, ‘What’s Your Digital Business Model?’ Professor Weill is chair and senior research scientist for the Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Fintechs are on the rise. Obvious statements aside, there is proof that many are taking notice of the fintech trend happening across the country and globe.

What is BBVA’s strategy for transforming the bank into a truly digital company?

BBVA’s digital transformation has always been as much about serving customer needs as it has been about securing the future of the bank. In fact the two are synonymous, by ensuring customers can bank when, where and how they want to – including on the device of their choice – BBVA is building a bank that better serves their needs.

Amid increasing numbers of fintechs joining the financial industry and burgeoning investment in them – Accenture reports $27.4 billion was spent financing fintechs in 2017, an 18 percent increase year-over-year – there has been much hand wringing and discussion about the future of incumbent banks. For BBVA Compass Head of Business Development Pepe Olalla, the future isn’t so murky.

“When people say the next industry to be disrupted will be banking, and that it will suffer what media or the music industries have suffered, I tend to disagree,” he says.

Marga Barrera, Global Head of Design and UX (User Experience) at BBVA, speaks with Spain’s leading business newspaper, “Expansión” about her role and the effort her team is making to transform the bank into a digital business that delivers value-added products to its customers every quarter. “Design is a profession on the rise, that will have a lot of influence in the coming years.” states Barrera who emphasizes that in the current climate where companies are competing for talent with big firms like Microsoft, a commitment to design is essential.

Thoughts were shared recently about what potential fintech entrepreneurs should be wary of when first starting out. A particular piece by Forbes outlines key tips from top leaders in the fintech world, including representatives from companies such as Instant Financial, Alpha Vantage and more.

BBVA Compass recently announced the integration of BBVA Compass Financial Tools into its latest Mobile Banking App release. The tools are made available in coordination with MX, the leader in actionable financial data, based in Lehi, Utah.

Instant credit? With the BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App’s Payments & Transfers functionality, it’s possible. All you need is a BBVA Compass credit card and a BBVA Compass account. Here’s how it works.

New doors may be opening for some fintechs across the country, at least according to one news source.

BBVA enables customers to manage security levels on their smartphones from a single point in the app. Users can configure the “security area” from the menu, and they can disable functionality for all their accounts and contracted products or even hide them from view. This is how BBVA Spain’s app, recently recognized for the second year in a row by Forrester Research as the best in Europe, has become a veritable remote control for mobile customers. Users can configure all the app’s permission settings and enable travel mode.

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently released research aimed at demonstrating the importance of digital transformation in corporate banking. In the research, BCG underscored the notion that for lasting and meaningful digital transformation, banks need to develop a clear vision for the future of banking, formulate a comprehensive strategy of how they will evolve alongside it, and plan their initiatives accordingly.

Getting paid to shop may sound like a dream, but Simple Cash Back rewards makes it a reality. Available through the BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App, BBVA Wallet or Online Banking, the feature allows customers with a consumer BBVA Compass debit or credit card to earn cash back on purchases.