We are increasingly aware of the importance of passwords: we create stronger ones, change them regularly and make sure not to use the same ones for everything. We also know that one of the biggest risks we face is password theft, since passwords unlock our information. But are we as careful with the passwords we store in our browsers?

BBVA has launched a digital tool in Spain that provides SMEs and the self-employed with a simulator to find out if they are eligible for direct aid from the Spanish Government under Royal Decree Law (RDL) 5/2021. The assistance package is aimed at protecting the productive fabric in the sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. By entering the details of their business activity, customers and non-customers can find out if they meet the requirements for accessing the aid, the amount they would receive and how to apply. Thanks to this solution, small businesses will be able to carry out a preliminary assessment and anticipate an application for aid.

The report 'Impact of COVID-19 on Consumption in Real Time and High Frequency´ in Spain, published by BBVA Research, reflects a 28 percent increase in card purchases  compared to June 2019 levels. Transactions grew by 19 percent y-o-y through face-to-face channels and 69 percent in non-face-to-face channels. The increase in mobility saw a boost in spending, especially in consumer sectors such as hospitality and leisure, and in those that involve travel, such as transport.

Consumption continued growing at strong rates in June, despite the correction of most of the base effect in year-on-year terms. Mobility-dependent sectors continued recovering unevenly on a per country basis, but rates remained particularly strong in the restaurant and catering industry. This are some of the key takeaways of 'The COVID-19 Impact on Consumption in Real Time and High Definition', a report published by BBVA Research.

StepEx has raised £1.1 million in pre-initial funding, with the venture studio BBVA Anthemis Venture Partnership being the lead investor. This startup from the UK offers an alternative system of student finance based on the estimation of their future income, to democratize access to postgraduate qualifications.

No venture fund can reveal all its secrets, is the first thing Propel says when asked how it selects the startups in which it wants to invest. But it does recognize that there are elements that are as clear a sign as any to detect a great company.

With more than 40 companies in its portfolio, six of them considered unicorns (valued above $1 billion) and two listed on the public stock markets, Propel has become a corporate venture capital benchmark since it was founded five years ago. The book 'Transactional to Transformational - How Banks Innovate', recently published by Wiley, recounts how BBVA opted to create an independently managed fund in order to approach the most promising fintech.

eSports is one of the digital industries that has grown the most during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, more than nine million users watched around 2.3 billion hours of gameplay on the streaming platform Twitch alone, which in the first quarter of the year reached a historic 6.3 billion hours watched, doubling the viewing figures of the same quarter in 2020. It is estimated that by 2022 eSports will have global audiences of more than 600 million followers. Streamers are looking to offer these audiences unique new experiences that go beyond gaming and even leap from the virtual to the physical realm.

BBVA experts recommend that SMEs should digitize, become more technified, and increase their training to adapt to the new times in order to get onboard the sustainability train and make progress in their recovery.

After the incidents of the previous months (SolarWinds, Codecov,...) it is becoming more evident that it is necessary to have a strong inventory and control over the components with which we build our software, as well as to strengthen the process used to build it.