BBVA has named the winner of its newly created Open Talent Award for Sustainability as Australian last mile start-up AgUnity.

The Houston Dynamo and BBVA USA have announced MoodMe as the winner of its annual Launchpad Sweepstakes contest, giving the Houston-area startup $10,000 to enhance its operation.

BBVA Chairman Carlos Torres Vila has told the biggest start-up conference in Spain that authorities around the world need to take action to unlock the true potential of data.

“You cannot walk the path of innovation alone,” said David Puente, Global Head of Client Solutions at BBVA, during the opening speech of South Summit event in Madrid. Puente also emphasized that BBVA's commitment to entrepreneurs is one of the key elements of the bank's strategy to advance its digital transformation.

Since SWIFT gpi was launched in 2017, BBVA has managed three million transactions – equivalent to €2 trillion – using this international payment standard. BBVA staunchly supports this global payment mechanism, which delivers speed and transparency to cross-border payments. Now SWIFT gpi aims to offer instant payments.

In 2019, BBVA reached a landmark milestone: By incorporating agile methodology techniques into their daily business activities it transformed the way the Group's entire 33,000-strong central services division organizes itself and works. This achievement represents a decisive inflection point in BBVA’s transformation process and serves as an opportunity to reflect on the route that has led the bank so far.

Garanti BBVA has been awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certificate for the overall sustainability of its headquarters building in Istanbul. It is the only bank in Turkey to have received such recognition, which is one of the most rigorous green building rating systems in the world, developed by the American Council of Green Buildings (USGBC).

BBVA remains the global mobile banking leader in 2019, according to ‘The Forrester Banking Wave™: Global MobileApps Summary, 2019’. BBVA’s mobile app combines “exceptional functionality with the best user experience.” Garanti BBVA, the Group’s Turkish franchise, is also in the report, which states that it is “one of the first banks to launch an in-app, voice-activated virtual agent.”

Last week, BBVA held the first Open Talks event in Portugal. Experts from Portugal’s innovation and fintech ecosystem gathered at the Tivoli BBVA Theater to share their insights and discuss the transformation challenges facing the country’s financial system.

BBVA has joined the online training platform, Adventurees, to provide 13 startups personalized assistance that will improve their chances of success. The program kicked off at the bank's innovation center in Madrid, BBVA Open Space.