BBVA is to increase its stake in UK digital bank Atom, after the Global Financial Group agreed to inject more capital into the mobile focussed business.

Some 42% of BBVA Spain’s sales were carried out through digital channels in January 2018, a record figure that far surpasses the same period a year earlier (24.5%) and is almost four times that of only two years ago (11%).

BBVA develops the infrastructure to allow El Corte Inglés to process Alipay mobile payments by Chinese tourists. Alipay is one of the most popular payment platforms in China.

BBVA has presented the case of its digital transformation at the 13th Asia-Pacific High Level Meeting on Banking, held in Singapore. José Manuel González-Páramo explained BBVA’s digital business model to representatives of Asia’s most important central banks and financial institutions. He also discussed some of the regulatory challenges the region is facing, noting the need for international coordination on digital regulation in the financial sector.

BBVA today launched its new BBVA for Everyone app, available for both iOS and Android operating systems, which enables the blind and those with physical or mild mental disabilities to use the bank’s network of over 6,300 automatic teller machines (ATMs). This new tool will guide those with visual disabilities to the ATM of their choice and help them withdraw cash. BBVA is a pioneer in this type of mobile solutions, which complement the services already available for people with disabilities on the web and corporate apps.

Brussels attempts to organize member initiatives through the creation of the Blockchain Observatory—a technology the EU has invested in since 2013 through its Research and Development programs.

The use of virtual assistants, mainly in the form of smart speakers, is rapidly gaining ground. In less than a year, devices such as Echo and Google Home have appeared in households across the globe and users are becoming increasingly comfortable carrying out searches, purchases and even bank transactions using this format, which looks set to become the transactional interface between customers and companies.

BBVA is continuing to deliver impressive results in its digital transformation, the Group has revealed in its full year 2017 results.

UK based Atom Bank has announced that its Chairman and Founder, Anthony Thomson, is to step down from his position with the company.

Alternative finance keeps gaining traction in Europe and Spain is no exception. By volume of activity —and excluding the UK— Spain ranks fifth in the European Union for the fourth consecutive year in this segment, behind France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. In 2016, Spain’s alternative finance sector grew by 162%, to €131 million.