Open banking in Spain

Open banking is a gamechanger for every country in Europe. It breaks barriers, creates new opportunities, and puts more control in the hands of consumers. But various countries have adopted banking differently. Let’s review how open banking developed and what its current state is in Spain.

The development of open banking

The key turning point for open banking in Spain happened in November 2020, when Spain passed a new law in relation to its financial system digital transformation through a regulatory sandbox. This created a testing space that could be used to try out technological innovations in the finance sector under flexible rules. The goal was to limit the costs and reduce regulatory complexity while maintaining supervision by regulators and protecting the market. Bankia (now CaixaBank) was the first bank to submit a case based on open banking.

However, Spanish banks started transforming their banking systems for open banking much earlier - in 2017, ahead of the second payments service directive (PSD2).

The state of open banking in Spain

According to the Open Banking Readiness Index 2021, Spanish banks claim to be at the forefront of open banking. Back in 2021, Spain had eight licensed third-party service providers that could offer payment initiation and account information services, and 115 foreign third-party providers with EU passports that could connect to Spanish banks via open banking APIs.

The European Commission ranked Spain 7th out of 27 European Union Member States in their Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) in 2022. The ranking is made up of four elements: human capital, connectivity, integration of digital technology and digital public services. In all four sectors, Spain has shown progress compared to previous years.

In 2021, the online banking penetration in the country was 65%, according to Statista. This means that the majority of the Spanish population has access to a personal online bank account. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation of banking services. A survey by KPMG and the Fundación de Estudios Financieros (FEF) shows that 6 out of 10 Spanish people replaced physical banking with online banking during the pandemic.

Research shows that in 2021, 95% of Spanish households had internet access. Mobile phone subscriptions were at 118% per capita. This means that people in Spain have all the means to enjoy the benefits of open banking and account-to-account (A2A) payments.

Enjoy the benefits of open banking in Spain with kevin.

Jennyfer Díaz Hidalgo, Head of Industry at kevin., says that “Spain is an important market for payment initiation service providers because it is heavily dominated by cards and there are many merchants that need fast, international payment methods. And kevin. offers that faster and safer option.” kevin. infrastructure supports all the main Spanish banks, including Caixa, Santander, BBVA and others.

Companies that are thinking of entering the Spanish market can turn to open banking and benefit from fair-priced transactions, quick settlement, and happy customers. Businesses based in Spain can also enjoy all the benefits of open banking and offer their clients a secure and convenient payment method. Partnering with kevin. opens the door to selling in Spain quickly and smoothly.