BBVA completes its catalog of products for individuals in Italy with the credit card release while it has begun to Explore the possibility of making the leap into business with SMEs and the self-employed. Present in the transalpine market for more than three decades through the wholesale business, the Basque group broke into retail banking in October 2021 starting from scratch, with an exclusively digital model and the hook of a free basic account linked to a debit card.
His initial plan was to attract 100,000 customers each yearuntil reaching half a million in 2026. It has already added 580,000, two years in advance, and now he aims to reach one million in one or two years.
The digital franchise catalog has been enriched in different stages by progressively adding savings, credit and insurance products. Last July it added the mortgage business with a fixed loan at 2.99% and another variable loan linked to the Euribor plus a differential of 0.26% that started in the regions of Lombardy, Veneto and Piedmont with the plan to progressively extend it to the rest of the country. Their intention with the mortgage is, precisely, to accelerate the pace of customer acquisition and engagement.
Credit for up to 6,000 euros
The brooch now arrives with the credit carda product where it is relevant to know well the client’s payment capacity and with which it closes the circle in terms of commercial offer for individuals. The card will have limits of between 600 and 6,000 euros and will have linked promotions of cashback (refunds to customers of a percentage of the purchase amount).
Exempt from commissions during the first year and that the client can keep if he uses it periodically, it is a card without visible numbering and with a dynamic CVV code to prevent fraud. To reinforce this security, the bank allows the cards to be turned on and off and incorporates warnings and alerts against potential fraud. Its minting may be physical or only digital, and will be associated with a mobile payment system (Google Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay).
The roadmap of neobanks normally involves launching new products as they consolidate previous ones. BBVA wanted to achieve maximum speed in the strategy of completing the portfolio to be a universal bank. “Three years after our arrival in the country, BBVA clients in Italy can now access all services but with the convenience and simplicity of a digital bank,” explained Javier Lipuzcoa, director of Digital Banking at BBVA in Italy.
The business and product director of BBVA Digital Banking in Italy, Ignacio de Loyola Gil Puértolas, explained that the strategic agreement reached with MasterCard “allows us to launch the new credit card and thus be able to offer a complete issuance proposal, covering the needs of our clients at every moment of the life cycle”.
A The next phase could be business with SMEs and self-employed workers, who explore without having decided on anything or a roadmap. “This is a project that is in a very initial phase and for which we do not have a time horizon. Currently, our focus remains on the client retail and to delve deeper into the services we offer,” bank sources indicated.
BBVA wants to replicate the project developed in Italy in Germany. The group is working to arrive in 2025 with products adapted to the market.
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