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

Identification using authentication like digital fingerprints and facial or iris recognition is making inroads in the world of airports where companies are looking for new technologies to enhance the user experience.

The holidays can be stressful for those who have a large number of names on their gift list. Not much time remains for those in the full swing of their shopping spree. As the pressure mounts to finish, any little bit helps.

In a world flush with acronyms – hello, banking! – “API” might seem like the latest notable term. But the truth is, APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, have been on the scene for many years, and was made popular in the year 2000 when SalesForce officially launched its web-based sales force automation.

The conference “Decentralized World” was recently held at BBVA’s Open Space in Madrid, focusing on the decentralization of the economy and trying to unravel some of the possibilities that blockchain technology can offer for data management in the future.

BBVA customers can now use an app that predicts their future income and expenses (Bconomy). Now, BBVA has developed —together with Google Cloud— an artificial intelligence model that would allow them to improve the accuracy of predictions. This model is explained in a white paper that also offers users recommendations on ways to protect the privacy of their data.

How will banks be impacted by big tech (Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc.) entering the financial services industry? Can regulation promote a level playing field? These are some of the questions raised at the “Big Tech Banking” event organized by CUNEF (University of Financial Studies) and the Spanish Banking Association (AEB). BBVA joined financial experts and regulators participating in the event, where a common thought prevailed: data will play a key role in the battle between banks and Big Tech.

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.

The advantages are many. This doesn’t mean we have to be specialists in computer science. Programming languages are what allow machines to be given instructions, and what makes them, more or less, intelligent. So, the more we know about these processes, the better we understand how the world today functions. We will also be better protected against urban myths and fake news. For example, if we knew how the algorithms that protect our bank accounts work, we would be leery of the urban myth that says if we enter our pin backwards in the ATM, the bank immediately notifies the police.