Two people is the minimum that is needed to create a bizum, and also to launch a recognizable brand for millions of Spaniards. Fernando Rodríguez, Bizum’s business director, got together in 2016 with Ángel Nigorra, the general director, to fulfill a particular assignment: to integrate the board of directors of several banks into the same payment platform. The request had come from the 30th floor of the Emperador tower in Madrid, where the main Spanish banks had given the go-ahead to the idea. Without knowing it, they were doing something exceptional in Europe.

Seven years later, “make a bizum” is already a habitual expression for millions of Spaniards and a practice that neighboring countries look at with astonishment. Last year, 40,700 million euros were moved in 762 million bizum operations; 24 per second.

What makes you feel most proud of Bizum?

Having experienced the birth, development and emergence of a solution for millions of people. When I entered, it was just Ángel (Nigorra) and me, but we were surrounded by the entities, who from the beginning saw the potential.

How did they make their first million?

It was from users. It took us fifteen months to get it. And then the fastest million was in six weeks. Today there are 22 million users.

What is the key to Bizum’s success?

The spirit of collaboration between the banks, because this is not achieved just by putting a group of people to coordinate. There has been a determined commitment from financial institutions with a 95% market share. This allowed that, from the beginning, everyone had Bizum without realizing it.

But you have to use it. And the invention spread like wildfire.

The prescription of the service has been the main catalyst. It has not been necessary to convince anyone, rather it has been the users themselves who have recommended the service to each other.

Why so much consumer enthusiasm?

We have different attributes. There is convenience, in which Bizum has a highly valued user experience that is also supported by the telephone number, which gives it a universal character. And then there is the added security of knowing that you are moving the money directly with the bank. Comfort, universality and safety.

It is not easy to trust when talking about money.

But we also provide immediacy. I can confirm, being you in front, that you have made me a bizum.

How many hundreds of people work at Bizum?

We are nine people. Of course, the team is very well armed, because in the payment activity it is not easy to find people who know.

Bizum is a Spanish rarity. Why don’t they have it in France or Germany?

There is nothing comparable for the number of entities involved from the beginning. Even in Sweden, Norway or Denmark, where the cash payment is residual, people relate to solutions similar to Bizum, but the number of actors involved from the beginning is smaller.

What moved the banks to join forces?

The threat of certain non-banking competitors in big tech areas and that a new standard for immediate payments was coming in Europe, which can be settled and cleared in a matter of seconds.

Who came up with the expression “make a bizum”?

“Make a bizum” was in the company’s brand manual itself and since the corporate identity was created. The idea was to turn it into a popular and democratic service within everyone’s reach. It was something that, in less time than we would have dreamed, was everywhere.

Few brands are capable of creating language.

Bizum is already in popular culture. Even the RAE responds to users about how the plural of bizum has to be formed or whether bizum is flat or acute.

The banks will be happy.

The Bizum brand is one of the main assets of financial institutions. One of the reasons why users access banking channels more is to create a bizum.

What else can be done with this brand?

We are taking steps to cover all the use cases planned at the first moment. We already have donations to NGOs, electronic commerce and payments in lottery administrations. Now we are going to take steps in which we can capitalize on the added confidence of the brand.

Donations to NGOs via Bizum?

Yes. Last year, 530,000 donations were made to NGOs and other social entities, representing a volume of more than 22 million euros. In March of last year, the Bizum.help platform was presented for this.

And can it be paid in stores?

In face-to-face commerce, users will begin to see in stores that Bizum is also accepted.

Any more news?

We work on digital identity services, based on the same concept that I am my phone. The mobile will become the identifier for digital identity services, so that you can register on a website using Bizum. It is part of the sense of digitization of banking. It is about opening up to new concepts beyond bank payment.

Are there internationalization plans?

We were born to cover the Spanish domestic environment, but that has changed not long ago. At the end of last year we incorporated the first Andorran entities. One of the company’s purposes is not to stay at the current borders. We believe that our model can be exported.

Also to digital currencies?

We are doing a proof of concept of the digital euro. Bizum would help the ECB to distribute the digital euro through the supervised entities. In things like these, entities are going to put all their efforts.

And a pan-European Bizum?

Why not. We have met in a work forum with 17 European solutions. We have to see how to reach those agreements.

Is there a generational user profile of Bizum?

We are seeing that as a result of the pandemic, the age group above 55 years is the one that is growing the most. It is one of the most populated in the Spanish area.

And the older ones?

We are making a bet on all sides. We have the Bizum Senior, with which we direct the service to this population group. Also below we are seeing that more and more entities are offering Bizum to minors, from 14 years of age.

How is that controlled?

Banks do not give online credentials to those under 18 years of age, but they are beginning to offer Bizum through the supervision of the elderly. Some already do it and surely this year we will see another entity that will do it.

What are the growth targets?

We usually work with objectives year by year. We estimate that there are close to 30 million digital banking customers in Spain. We hope to close 2023 with 25 million users, that is what we are going to focus on. We also aspire to reach 1,000 million operations between people and 30 million payments in e-commerce. We will do them while we are incorporating new functionalities to our service.