The rise of Open Banking in Spain

How Open Banking is bringing more choice, control and competition to the world of finance.

Open Banking is gaining momentum in Spain. Buoyed by a broader digital transformation underway in the country, we examine how the future looks bright for better bank transfers done faster in Spain.

Payments habits are strongly national

When it comes to in-person payments, Spain likes cash and cards. The average Spanish adult carried €60 in cash in their wallet at the start of the day, according to 2024 figures from the European Central Bank, very close to the eurozone average of €59.

Although there’s been a significant decline from the €77 average cash-on-hand amount in 2019, forecasters predict that cash will remain the leading payment method at the point of sale in 2030 with 28% of point-of-sale (POS) transaction value.

“Cards are an essential part of Spain’s payment landscape,” writes Worldpay in its Global Payments Report 2025. “Credit, debit and prepaid cards accounted for 49% of all transaction value in 2024.” When it came to in-person payments, debit cards were second to only cash, accounting for 27% of payments. Meanwhile, debit cards made up 20% of commerce payments, behind digital wallets (34%) and A2A (21%).

So what? Payment habits are deeply ingrained. No-one is looking for a new way to pay. If it works well, why do something different?

So, providers must evidence their value add. Or, as loss aversion weighs heavy, explain how users will not lose out. This may be through emphasising convenience, security and/or expanding the use cases for new payment methods, which includes Open Banking.

Bizum: a domestic success story

The domestic payment method Bizum was launched 2016, originally as a P2P transfer service. It allowed users to link their mobile number to their bank account (IBAN), enabling instant payments via a mobile phone across a range of use cases.

Nine years on, the number of participating Spanish banks has doubled to nearly 40. Meanwhile the 28.2 million active users (out of a population of 48 million) made 3 million Bizum payments daily, worth more than €44 million in 2024, according to a Bizum press release.

Bizum has added e-commerce, QR code payment functionality, recuring payments and online digital identification. Bizum Pay, a new mobile contactless solution, will be introduced at physical point of sale in 2025, bringing A2A payments in-store. Users will be able to make in-person payments at merchants, either directly from their bank app or through the Bizum Pay digital wallet.

Bizum is also expanding internationally through tie-ups with mobile payment solutions in Italy and Portugal. So much so, Bizum expects to reach 30 million users, 1.15 billion transactions between individuals and more than 100 million e-commerce payments in 2025.

So what? More than a billion Bizum payments were made in 2024 to family, friends, e-commerce merchants, charities and state lotteries. So much so, it’s fuelling an A2A e-commerce growth forecast of 15% from 2024-30. This bodes well for Open Banking as a rising tide of A2A payments lifts all boats.

Pushing on an open door

Several other factors will also drive the adoption of Open Banking in Spain. Firstly, the rollout of online banking which is set to exceed 90% by 2029.

Secondly, the digital savviness of the Spanish generally. Over half the population (54%) uses electronic identities (eIDs) and 83% actively use e-government services, according to specialist provider Signicat.

Thirdly, the broader digital transformation underway in the country. Spain ranks #7 on the 2022 EU Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) which tracks digitalization efforts across the EU member states. This is a rise of five places from 2021.

Spain remains a leader in digital public services and is advancing in health, digital ID and cybersecurity. This compares well with France and Germany, which are ranked at #12 and #13 respectively.

Fourthly, Spain’s adoption of national and international standards. In the absence of a national Open Banking standard, most Spanish banks rely on a single private aggregator (Redsys). This uses an API based on the Berlin Group standard, compatible with PSD2.

When comes to payment rails, Spain was among the first to incorporate the European real-time payment system, SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst). So much so, Bizum accounts for about 90% of the market for instant payments in Spain.

And finally, from a technical perspective, interest in Open Banking is growing Spain, even if it’s largely from cross-border third-party providers (TPPs), passporting their services into the country.

Spain had a total of 171 TPPs in Q1 2025, of which 157 were cross-border TPPs, according to Konsentus. This puts it just outside the top 5 EEA markets by total number of TPPs, in a chasing pack together with Belgium (175), Finland (171) and Poland (170).

So what?

While challenges remain, particularly around customer awareness and standardization, Open Banking in Spain is no longer a future concept. It’s a present-day reality.

Driven by PSD2 and an increasingly digital savvy population and real-time infrastructure, Spain is making steady progress towards greater Open Banking adoption. And the benefits it brings from faster payments to personalized services will become even more accessible.