BBVA named as a World Leader in incumbent digital strategy

The accolade was given to BBVA as a result of the bank’s continued drive towards both open banking - through its Open API programmes - and its ongoing push towards full digitalisation.

11:FS, which has the most listened to financial services podcast in the world - listened to in more than 155 countries - produces an annual series of awards, The Pulse Awards, focused on who they think is outperforming rivals in the world of financial banking.

Last year BBVA scooped the top spot for Best Incumbent Bank, with the 11:FS experts calling out the world-beating mobile app the bank had produced, its focus on UX and it speed at delivering products and services.

This year BBVA took second place with the consultancy stating: “The Spanish bank BBVA has made huge strides towards digitalization in recent years. Of note is its API marketplace, widely considered to be one of the most advanced in the world, and its Open Platform which was made available in the US for the first time in 2018.

“Additionally, in 2018 BBVA was one of the first banks in continental Europe to offer both retail and business customers the ability to view accounts from multiple providers within their banking app. This service scored highly in Pulse, as did BBVA’s analytics and insights tools, particularly in the utility and visual design areas. Both are integral first steps to the delivery of real-time, contextual services and the quality of BBVA’s offerings indicate they will move further towards this goal through 2019.”

Commenting, BBVA´s Global Head of Client Solutions, Derek White, said: “For BBVA the digital transformation is not just about delivering better products and services into the hands of our customers and clients.

“Neither is it just about improving performance or ensuring our colleagues feel both proud and empowered to work for the brand.

“It's more than that - it's about turning the talent and expertise we have within this business to use in supporting how and why people and businesses make decisions. It's about using our experience in a way that makes us a better, more trusted partner for the long-term - and in a world where traditional industry verticals are crumbling and great experience is everything - this drive to stay relevant to people is the real power of digital transformation."

Meanwhile Abhishek Gupta, Head of Open Platform, said: "The shift in the industry from closed to open banking will bring huge benefits to all those who see it as an opportunity and not a challenge to be feared. In launching the Open Platform in the US, this was BBVA stating clearly that we believe banking-as-a-service is going to bring huge value to both businesses and individuals, and further the idea of people being able to interact with their money in a way that suits them best. Open Platform and the deep pipeline of businesses looking to work with us shows, I think, that this paradigm shift in how banks work is absolutely the right approach, and this accolade from 11:FS is a great demonstration of the recognition we are increasingly seeing."

Top Spot this year was taken by Goldman Sachs, ostensibly for its success in launching its digital retail banking offering, Marcus, which the most it built from scratch in just two years and which is receiving strong customer reviews.

This week, Derek White will also be taking part in the Fintech Insider After Dark podcast hosted by fintech experts from 11:FS David M. Brear, Jason Bates, Chris Skinner and Simon Taylor, to talk about the relationship between fintechs and big incumbent banks.