Teresa Alameda

Is it possible to take advantage of big data without it affecting the privacy of users? The answer may reside in “Privacy-enhancing technologies”, or PETs, a set of technologies that use different computational and mathematical approaches with the same purpose: extracting data value in order to unleash its full commercial, scientific and social potential, without jeopardizing the privacy and security of this information.

One of the biggest challenges in advanced analytics is developing mechanisms to determine how reliable the decisions made by algorithms are. Now, research by BBVA’s Artificial Intelligence Factory is proposing a new method to make machine learning models capable of expressing the uncertainty in their predictions in a clearer manner. It’s an exploratory approach to make artificial intelligence more transparent, measure the reliability of its predictions and  fine tune the accuracy of its results.

Will connected cars need their own bank account? The BBVA New Digital Businesses (NDB) unit is working to anticipate the opportunities and challenges that will arise in the financial industry when the Internet of Things (IoT) makes it possible to manage transactions directly among objects, people and organizations.

Is it possible to show that something is true without revealing the data that proves it? This is what ‘Zero Knowledge Proof’ technology proposes, a technique which employs cryptographic algorithms so that various parties can verify the veracity of an item of information without sharing the data that compose it.

Artificial intelligence systems that are capable of reasoning, creating art or even learning to teach other machines. These are a few examples of what could occur in the future with advances in deep learning. Three experts in the AI field shared their vision, concerns and hopes regarding the development of this technology during the launch of BBVA AI Factory.

Sixty candidates worked non-stop to develop an analytical model and come up with a business solution based on datasets provided by BBVA. The competition, hosted last week at Ciudad BBVA, was the last phase of a selection process aimed at recruiting new members to enroll in the 'Young Data Professionals' program, a BBVA initiative aimed at developing young advanced analytics talent.

This new payment method replaces sensitive debit or credit card data with a unique identification code called a ‘token,’ which is used during a digital transaction. Online transactions are therefore more secure because the customer’s actual card data no longer needs to be provided. BBVA has already committed to helping its customers adopt this new payment approach.

The branch of artificial intelligence that focuses on teaching machines how to see is becoming increasingly sophisticated. It is already better than humans at telling one person from another. At BBVA’s headquarters, this technology is already being used to allow users to pay for their meals at Ciudad BBVA’s restaurants. But, how does it work?

Money is often cited as being one of the biggest causes of stress in people’s lives. So imagine a ‘Self-driving’ bank account that took away some of that stress by watching your finances 24/7 and acting on your behalf to make your money work harder for you. Well it’s a future that's very close to becoming a reality with latest advances in Artificial Intelligence now able to do more for you than ever before.

To trust or not to trust? This is the question that will redefine success in the digital age. Atom Bank, the first mobile bank in the United Kingdom has been called on to analyze the driving factor behind this new challenge, thanks to an agreement that secures their participation in a three-year project with Newcastle University. BBVA owns a 39 percent stake in Atom Bank.

Social networks and the conversation created by the media on the internet provide a reliable source of information to gauge society’s feelings or perceptions on certain topics. In a new report, BBVA Research applies big data and artificial intelligence techniques to analyze the reach, the topics, the key players and the perception of the fintech phenomenon based on the information published on Twitter and traditional media.

According to a report by the independent research firm Forrester, 2019 will be the year that digital transformation aspirations translate into “pragmatic” actions.

Each year the Las Vegas CES technology trade fair becomes a parade of outlandish devices as the the big industry trend-setters make their announcements for the coming year. Manufacturers like LG and Samsung compete to show off the latest models of their flexible displays or connected household appliances, while the likes of Amazon and Google continue the battle to place their virtual assistants in as may products as possible. What happened this year?

According to BBVA Next Technologies’ experts, these are four of the emerging platforms of the blockchain technology to watch out for next year.

If December is the month with the highest sales for traditional shopping, for the last two years November has become the star of Internet shopping. The recent phenomenon of Black Friday brings forward by one month the arrival of Christmas to online shopping, according to a study by BBVA Data & Analytics and BBVA Research.

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.

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.

BBVA’s online digital acquisition for corporate customers is not only simple and convenient, but also presents an attractive design. This service was recognized at the 2018 Ibero-American Design Biennial with an award in the ‘Service Design’; category. The design team set out to emulate a real-life exchange with the customer through a digital interface, mimicking the tone and approach that an agent would typically use when tending to a potential customer.

The new technologies are not an end in themselves but rather a way to improve the customer experience. This was how Ricardo Segoviano, head of BBVA Open Platform Spain, explained it during the presentation event for the 'World Retail Banking Report 2018', which lists BBVA as an example of successful collaboration in the drive to improve the digital banking experience via APIs.

BBVA had the opportunity to share with the European Commission (EC) its vision of the cybersecurity challenges facing the financial sector. It provided its insight in a report submitted by the working group, ECIL (European Cybersecurity Industry Leaders), where the bank participates alongside companies from different sectors.

The digital transformation is altering the Spanish economy as demonstrated by varying levels of 'routinization' in numerous fields and the growing relationship between average salaries and hardware and software use in different occupations. These are some of the conclusions detailed in a report prepared by BBVA Research, which analyzes the impact of the routinization and computerization of different manufacturing sectors, occupations, and employment profiles on the Spanish economy.

The arrival of new blockchain platforms, advances in cloud computing and the consolidation of new machine-human interactions, are among the hottest trends according BBVA Next Technologies 'Tech Radar 2018', a report that shines the spotlight on some the most relevant tools and practices in 2018, as well as those that will mark the next years in fields such as big data and artificial intelligence.

At BBVA Open Summit, Ricardo Forcano, BBVA's Global Head of Talent and Culture; and Rob Brown, Global CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) at BBVA, chatted with the representatives of two startups that are working to leverage blockchain and AI technologies to enable new decentralized ways of working.

BBVA and Das-Nano demonstrate the potential that can come out of alliances between small and big business. Veridas represents a milestone in the development and launch of innovative payment solutions and user identification at BBVA Group. "Our technological developments are on par with the best in the world," says Eduardo Azanza, CEO of Veridas.

Cash or card? The numbers opting for the latter continue to grow, especially among young people – the millennial generation – and in large cities like Madrid and Barcelona. Additionally, with ever-present POS’s and more and more retailers who accept them, card payments are increasingly frequent, even for low value transactions. These are some of the conclusions reached by BBVA Data & Analytics and reported by BBVA Research in a study about spending habits in Spain: The use of cash is on the decline and digital payments are increasingly popular.

Mario Pardo, the global head of Enterprise Solutions at BBVA, shared the stage at the Open Innovation Forum with Henry Chesbrough, renowned academic of the University of California and known as the ‘father of open innovation’. Both speakers spoke about how BBVA is working with its corporate clients and startups to develop better banking solutions.

Twenty-six young people have joined the ‘Young Professionals Data’ in Spain and Argentina program, a BBVA initiative to recruit and develop the best talent in advanced analytics. The selection process to take on another 21 young people in Mexico has started and in the following months Colombia, Peru the U.S. and Turkey will join the project.

In a context marked by a loss of confidence in digital companies such as Facebook because of their handling of data who can users trust their information with? A report by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) studies the role of banks in this new scenario and goes over their strategies, their strengths and their commitment to protecting the data of their customers.

Spain is the team that controls midfield, Russia attacks the most, while Brazil surprisingly is the most defensive. According to big data, such are the styles of play of the soccer teams currently facing off in the hopes of winning the tournament.

Fintech expert Chris Skinner shared the stage with Carlos Kuchkovsky, CTO New Digital Businesses at BBVA, at Desafío Ingenia, where they debated the arrival of technologies such as artificial intelligence, the importance of data and new entrants in the financial services market.

Consumer habits have changed. Users are increasingly demanding and want services that understand and meet their needs in the moment. How do banks adapt to this new paradigm? Eugenia Gibbons, the Global Head of Digital Sales and Customer Engagement BBVA, explained during the Adobe Summit 2018  that the key lies in creating one-click, intelligent and customized products.

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.

A report by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) studies the degree of readiness of different countries ahead of an ever increasing presence of  technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence. The study includes a series of in-depth interviews with experts in different fields, among them, Elena Alfaro, Head of Customer Solutions Analytics & Open Innovation at BBVA.

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.

What happens when an artificial intelligence system recommends a movie or a restaurant? Or a financial product?  To what extent can an algorithm get to know people? These and many more questions were raised during the presentation of the BBVA’s Data and Analytics project ‘RecSys, a recommendation in the era of machine learning’, which brought together experts from diverse fields (cinema, design, law and gastronomy) to discuss how society is changing with the arrival of these technologies.

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 ‘Design Ambassadors’ program, which has already reached its first milestone on a global level, was set up with the idea of creating hybrid employee profiles capable of applying the principles of design thinking in BBVA’s different business areas worldwide.

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.

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.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and APIs continue to dominate the forecasts of the leading experts in the fintech sector. However, there are some new caveats for 2018, due to regulatory pressure. As the digitization of financial services gathers force, BBVA stands among the banks that have invested most in their digital transformation.

Companies cannot afford to turn their backs on technological progress and technology trends. “Technology will be embedded in everything in the digital business of the future,” says the research firm Gartner, in its 'Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2018'.

Gartner predicts that the trends on its list will mark the course of the next decade. They all form part of something the research firm terms the intelligent digital mesh, “an entwining of people, devices, content and services”.

Those three words – intelligent,  digital and mesh – are also the categories into which the research firm divides these essential services. Among them are autonomous robotics, the applications of the Internet of Things and blockchain-based solutions.

The APIfication phenomenon is by no means restricted to the banking sector. At the API Forum held this week in Madrid, insurance and entertainment companies participated, together with BBVA, to discuss the keys to designing APIs capable of attracting developers.

The “Powerlist” celebrates the contributions and talent of women from different business areas who are shaping the future of the fintech sector.  This year, the list includes four women from BBVA who play a significant role in the bank’s strategy.

Madrid hosted last week the Service Design Global Conference (SDGC17), a leading event in the world of service design that pays special attention to how this discipline is changing the world of banking. BBVA took part in one of the sessions to explain how design is, without a doubt, a key element in the success of its financial products and in satisfying customer needs at a time of great challenges for banking.

The combination of data from financial operations and advanced machine learning techniques allows BBVA to identify patterns and design tools that offer increasingly personalized and intelligent products and services.

Advances in mechanics, manufacturing techniques and artificial intelligence are giving way to increasingly sophisticated and specialized robots. These are some examples of the next generation of robotics that are being developed in MIT laboratories.

New companies are using in-car technologies to offer tailored insurance policies based on actual driver behavior. In addition, AI-enhanced automobiles enable new way to assess possible damages in the event of an accident, automating insurance claim processes.

The maturity of artificial intelligence, the great efforts of large corporations, and the significant value it has for customers are some of the factors that will make this new “hands-free” payment method ubiquitous in only a few years.

As the finance sector’s interest in creating blockchain-based products grows, so does the demand for professionals with the right skills for capitalizing on this exponential technology.  Just as occurred at the time with software developers, right now the demand exceeds the supply.