A number of websites offer downloads of thousands of books that can be read on any device.

Summer is synonymous with more time for reading. Here we provide 10 nonfiction titles that that will give you a broader view of a world in change.

Banks have clearly opted for financial technology, or fintech, to take on their new rivals, be they small startups or internet giants. However, the use of these technologies is more limited than it might appear. According to a study by the European Banking Authority (EBA), currently the majority of banks are focused on two lines of actions: biometrics for the identification and authentication of customers and the launch of mobile payment systems using NFC technology.

BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila got a first-hand glimpse into the level of progress that the BBVA Microfinance Foundation’s digital strategy is enabling. Bancamía, the Foundation’s lending arm in the country, is managing to reach more and more customers who, until recently, had struggled to access financing as a result of the digital divide. BBVA’s CEO learned about two of the entrepreneurs backed by the institution and how microcredits have afforded them new opportunities to pursue a brighter future.

The world of business is constantly coining new terms to name and categorize emerging concepts, ideas, technologies and activities that existing words struggle to convey. In this article we’ve assembled a list of relevant neologisms that will help you keep up with what’s happening in the field of digital innovation.

Europe included cybersecurity as one of its priorities in the European Council meeting in June. Some 69 percent of European companies lack basic knowledge about their exposure to cyberattacks despite 80 percent of them having suffered some type of cyber-incident in the past year. With this in mind, the European Parliamentary Financial Service Forum (EPFSF) organized in the European Parliament a session for cybersecurity experts to suggest ideas to face the risks in the internet.

Technology changes our lives day by day, offering us capabilities that were unimaginable just yesterday, but also complex challenges and potentially frightening conflicts. In other words: the perfect raw material for the best TV comedy and drama, which has found fertile ground in anti-establishment hackers, genius programmers, start-ups in distress, indolent IT guys or dystopian visions that seem a little too much like the world we live in.

Gesturing to the mint colored typewriter on the table, BBVA US Director of Risk Technology and Productivity Amory Booher said, “Technology has a lifecycle with a start and end date. For instance, the computer changed how we interacted with typewriters. Similarly, artificial intelligence and cognitive capabilities are changing how we interact with computers. We don’t know if these technological advancements will be as significant as going from the typewriter to the computer, but it’s incumbent on us to understand how these technologies are being applied so we can use them to make our lives better.”

The word “gig” comes from musical jargon and refers to a performance by a musical group. When applied to the working world, the concept refers to sporadic jobs of limited duration. The person hired to do the job is responsible for fulfilling a specific role within a project.

Every Friday, BBVA Compass, a leader in the U.S. digital banking revolution, publishes its weekly Fintech Friday article, giving you headlines you might have missed in the world of fintech across the U.S.

Over three days experts in finance, fintech and technology debated in Salzburg (Austria) the import of the challenge posed by technology for the economy and the financial sector. The disruption brought on by the massive adoption of new technologies has quickened the pace of change facing institutions. They also face the task of attracting customers in an environment in which there is much more supply.

The digital revolution has transformed the business of many industries and the way in which they offer services to their customers. Carlos Casas and Ophélie Richard, or BBVA’s Talent & Culture area, addressed during Talent Day 2018 how these changes also require companies to radically transform the way in which they work and manage in-house talent.

Where do most internet users go online from? What devices do they use? How often do they upgrade their smartphones? This a snapshot of the current internet and smartphone use habits across the planet.

With the creation of this engineering company, home to 1,200 technology experts, BBVA seeks to expedite its technological transformation.

We are witnessing the birth of a new generation of consumers. The latest generations – “millennials” and “centennials” – and those who are no longer so young but have quickly migrated to the new technologies, are setting the course for the economy in general and for banking in particular. Their new patterns of behavior and consumption create needs that change as quickly as the digital environment. It is essential that banks understand these needs so that they can help their customers make better financial decisions.

Long gone are the days when banks would send canceled checks from the previous month’s transactions so  customers could balance their checkbooks and manage their accounts. Today, the proliferation of digital money movement means transferring of money in and out of bank accounts has become real-time and a daily process. The BBVA Compass Mobile Banking App makes daily account management an easier task with customizable real-time alert notifications.

Forrester analyst Martha Bennett shared with BBVA her view on the current uses of and potential of blockchain. According to this expert, this technology is comparable to the mobile phone and the internet in the 1990s when already “usable” but far off reaching full potential.

Novels, movies, articles … much has been written about the future. From Jules Verne’s famed Journey to the Center of the Earth to flying cars that promise to revolutionize commuting. With the passage of time, ideas that seemed outlandish in the past have become a reality, causing us to think that ideas that seem impossible just might materialize.

BBVA has unveiled Valora View, the first app in the European Banking sector using augmented reality to help prospective buyers or renters find a home. With this new free service, available for both customers and non-customers of the bank, BBVA launches a tool that, harnessing the power of big data, is capable of providing users with recommended purchase or rent prices for a specific property. And not only that: The application can also provide advice on whether it makes more sense to buy or rent, and even run mortgage simulations.

BBVA participated in the Red Hat Summit, the annual event held by the open-source software company in San Francisco, where the Group was awarded for being a model of digital transformation using cloud technologies. During one of the event sessions, the company’s CEO, Jim Whitehurst, talked with José María Ruesta, BBVA’s Global Head of Infrastructure, Service and Open Systems.

BBVA has successfully completed the first global corporate loan transaction using blockchain technology from the negotiation of the deal to its signing, in line with their close collaboration to leverage cutting-edge technologies to streamline business processes.

DLT and blockchain share a conceptual origin: they are digitalized and decentralized log books of record. Often the terms are confused, but they are differentiated by an unshared set of specific features.

Meetings, reports, deadlines … a symphony of tasks that can sometimes turn the workday into a slog. On top of all this, add the intention to live a healthy lifestyle and it might seem like an impossible task. Luckily, there’s always a smartphone at hand and an app to help you face the day.

Carlos Kuchkovsky, CTO of New Digital Businesses at BBVA, has been elected for the second year running as a member of the Governing Board of Hyperledger, one of the major partnerships formed to promote the use of blockchain in different business and technology sectors.

Recently Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, stated that he was going to subject his company to the standards of the new European data protection regulation that will be in force from May 25th, the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) But, what impact will this legislation have on a technology company like Facebook? And on others?

José Manuel González-Páramo, BBVA’s head of Global Economics, Regulation and Public Affairs, presented the bank’s blockchain strategy at the IIF’s meeting in Washington before regulatory officials of the finance sector. A strategy based on a pillar called the three E’s: Execution, Ecosystem, and Experience.

BBVA to invest $50 million into Sinovation Fund IV, a Chinese venture capital fund run by Sinovation Ventures and led by Dr. Kai-Fu Lee.

The General Data Protection Regulation is a new EU-wide law that will strengthen the data and privacy rights of EU citizens once it becomes effective on May 25, 2018.  As a novelty, the GDPR introduces the right to portability of personal data, which will allow a customer to share the personal data which he/she has provided to a company with other companies with which he/she engages.

Malware, or malicious software, covers different programs which, when run in devices, cause different types of damage and complications such as interrupting their operations, disrupting how they work, stealing information and displaying unwanted advertising.

The agreement, signed by 22 countries, will serve as a vehicle for cooperation among member states on the exchange of experiences and know-how required in the creation of blockchain applications within Europe.

Digital transformations are most effective when customers are not aware their bank has undergone one, says BBVA Compass Head of Retail Banking Çağrı Süzer.

BBVA has held its inaugural Open Innovation Open Talks event in San Francisco to a packed audience of investors, startups and key commentators – both from within the financial services world and beyond.

End up hating the sound of the alarm. Have coffee for breakfast and with any luck a couple of biscuits. Drive right into the middle of a traffic jam and can’t find anywhere to park. All these problems can be avoided by creating for yourself the desired routine with a smartphone in hand and the best morning apps.

The fifth generation of mobile phone networks is essential for the internet of things and self-driving cars to become a reality but before that operators need to assure themselves that the rollout of the network will be profitable.

Openpay, which is part of the BBVA Group, has forged a new partnership with Alipay, the leading digital payment platform in China. The deal means Chinese tourists and visitors to Mexico can now pay for things using the Alipay platform, which is hugely popular in their home country.

What happens when you choose a restaurant on the Internet? Or when you want to buy a book? Or find a song? Or get hooked on a new series?  BBVA Data & Analytics in a new item for dissemination explains how the different recommendation systems used by Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify work and how they will extend beyond the consumer and entertainment sectors.

The European Union has published its action plan for the promotion of the financial sector’s digital transformation. The plan includes the creation of an EU fintech laboratory to foster dialog between private and public sectors, the identification of best practices for regulatory sandboxes, and the creation of measures to facilitate the adoption of innovative technologies by the sector.

The movie ‘The Social Network’ (2010) tells the story of Facebook, a social network community initially only used by Harvard students. Less than thirteen years later, the social network numbers 2 billion active users per month. A small group of “giants” control the majority of Internet communities, but what about other social networks that are attractive to different niches?

BBVA Compass’ commitment to the Mile High City and surrounding areas was on a high-profile display for the second time in five months this week, when the bank brought Kevin Mitnick on Tues., March 13 to speak to clients at a forum.

At this point, it’s not surprising that apps that are spontaneously installed on our devices use our personal data in a number of ways.

BBVA Group signs the second phase of its global accord on optimizing data processing, centered on Latin America and the US. The agreement aims to accelerate the change toward the latest generation of technology platforms.

The BBVA Group has joined a Series B funding round in digital platform solarisBank, a pioneer in the ‘banking as a service’ concept.

BBVA’s digitization process in South America solidly advances. At the end of January 2018, 49.9% of customers in South America interacted with the bank via digital channels. This represents an increase of 26% from last year’s figures. The increase stands at 43% if we reference customers who connect using mobile devices. “BBVA’s mobile banking has seen such intense growth that it indicates where the consumption habits of the bank’s customers are going. That’s where we’ve been headed for some time now,” explains Antonio Bravo, director of Business Development and Digital banking for BBVA South America.

There is no greater source of pride in the world than to see our children get ahead in life. Their achievements, their charms… It can be marvelous to share each moment of their progress with family members, friends and work colleagues. But is it a good idea to do so on social networks? Is this the right place to share this information?

BBVA Open Talent, the world’s biggest fintech competition, will this year mark its tenth anniversary by working with more start-ups than ever before.

Find out more and register for Open Talent 2018 here.

BBVA’s drive towards delivering a world class digital banking experience has taken another step forward. Over the past year the bank has seen an almost twofold year on year increase in the number of products and services its customers and clients are taking-up via digital channels.

Fair-trade coffee, quality guarantee, ecological tomatoes… consumers read the labels on the things they eat. But is there any way of checking that what they say is correct? In order to do so, you would need a register of the processes to which the product has been submitted, something blockchain can do.

Which technologies will mark the development and protection of our digital identity? It seems that biometry and blockchain could be the keys that will set the future of our identity in the web and will help protect us.

Digital identity is the online version of an individual’s physical identity.  It consists of all of the individual´s personal data that is available online —not just an email or physical address, but also pictures, banking info, shopping preferences. This identity is not uniform, as we share different attributes in different platforms. In other words, we don’t share the same type of information on LinkedIn and Facebook, for example.

Ethereum is a platform developed in open-source code that uses blockchain technology and has the capacity to create and execute so-called ‘smart contracts,’ which allow making secure and efficient transactions without intermediation.

The “proptech” companies and the most innovative financial institutions are already offering services that improve the customer experience in the real estate sector.

A report by Standard and Poor’s Global (S&P) analyzes the potential impact on the financial sector of the entry of tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. Although no immediate changes to bank ratings is foreseen, the report points out that in the long term these companies are well placed to get a position  in segments of the chain such as payment systems.

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.

Switzerland leads the world ranking of the most innovative countries, according to the Global Innovation Index, published annually by Cornell University and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

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.

Sixty per cent of Spaniards look for health-related information online, but only one third of themtrust their search results. This figure is in stark contrast with the level of trust that is placed on thepersonal advice provided by health professionals, about 92%. To address this demand for reliableonline information, Hospital Clínic of Barcelona and the BBVA Foundation have created PortalCLÍNIC.

Since it was launched in 2016, the FCA’s regulatory sandbox has supported 60 firms to test their innovation with real customers in the live market under controlled conditions. Now, it is assessing different options to scale up the model at global level to solve the challenges of operating internationally in the fintech market.

In a fast-paced world, Swiss financial institutions are well-prepared to lead the transformation of the finance industry, particularly in private banking, where they are a clear reference in the world. The combination of accumulated experience, talent and availability of capital are decisive factors to facilitate this change.

The head of the BBVA Data & Analytics’ Edge team, José Antonio Rodríguez-Serrano, who coordinates the innovation area in BBVA’s center of excellence in data science, shares his insights into five key questions to understand the implications of this exponential technology in different economical sectors and spheres of society.

Deep Learning techniques are providing amazing results on several Machine Learning fields, but training a complex deep neural network on a large dataset can take a significant amount of time. Therefore accelerate training of Deep Learning models is really crucial, but also challenging.

When San Francisco comes to mind, so do connotations of entrepreneurship and innovative thinking. So when BBVA decided to set up a course on entrepreneurship for some of the bank’s best Global Wealth clients, Northern California was its top choice.

As we have seen in previous articles, the intelligent use of data, with the right talent and the pertinent business strategies for applying creative solutions, can provide insights that help solve a whole gamut of problems and take on board new opportunities. Data places within our grasp an enhanced decision-making ability and a deeper understanding of our clients and what they need. But as in the case of any other tool, these new skills can be put to positive or not so positive use, whether intentionally or not.

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’s core focus on delivering innovative, customer and client focused products and services continued to accelerate during 2017.

For decades, human beings have used technology to make day-to-day life simpler and more comfortable.  Science has evolved and become more sophisticated in meeting our concrete needs in a more precise manner. The entertainment sector has also benefited from technological advances, by incorporating virtual reality into immersion experiences.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is radically transforming the job market. And it’s raising the same doubts that the three previous revolutions did. One of the most broadly debated questions is: what will the job market of the future be like?

Smart speakers are the vanguard of the so-called environmental technology, which transcends the limitations of screens. For the moment, Amazon reigns supreme over a market in which Apple is about to disembark.

Nothing escapes from the whirlwind of digitization, not even a sector as traditional as the winemaking industry. The number of startups dedicated to improving the way this centuries-old alcoholic beverage is produced, marketed and enjoyed keeps growing. In this article we take a look at some of the most-talked about companies.

We inferred as much in the title to the first article of this series: to key to realizing all the opportunities of this new technological era, lies in these three factors: raw material—data—and the other two are human factors—intelligence and innovation.

Concepts such as big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence and data science are increasingly at the center of the debate about the digital revolution. But why is everyone talking about them? Do we really understand these concepts, or the implications they have on our evolution as a society?

Whether it’s chatting, finding your soul mate or jotting down notes, there are few things that twentysomethings and younger people can’t do on a smartphone. With so many applications available for smartphones, which are the ones most preferred by millennials?

At BBVA, new digital solutions for customers are constantly being developed. The bank´s affiliates in Mexico, Peru and Chile are launching new tools for personal finance, implementing the use of the digital signature for contracting loans, and adding new functions to their cell phone apps.

BBVA is committed to working with the fintech community in a way that delivers real benefits for the start-ups, the bank and of course customers and clients.

Wearables manufacturers are changing their focus from fitness and health, to improving user productivity and connectivity. That´s the great challenge facing a business whose size is expected to double between 2017 and 2021.