Spanish banks launch Bizum Pay to challenge Visa and Mastercard dominance
Spanish financial institutions expand Bizum with a contactless payment system that bypasses major card networks.
A consortium of around 40 Spanish financial institutions is expanding its instant payment platform, Bizum, to allow direct in-store purchases. The new service, Bizum Pay, enables contactless transactions at point-of-sale terminals directly from a buyer's bank account to a merchant's account, bypassing traditional payment networks like Visa and Mastercard.
Currently accessible to Android users via banking applications or the Bizum Pay digital wallet, the mechanism eliminates third-party intermediaries from the transaction chain. The move aims to lower transaction costs for merchants while strengthening European autonomy in digital payment infrastructure. Originally created for peer-to-peer money transfers, Bizum is now positioned to become a primary payment option across physical retail stores in Spain.
Sources: Anadolu Ajansı (Anadolu Agency)