BBVA is expanding beyond traditional banking in Turkey, where its subsidiary Garanti now sells used cars and rents iPhones. The bank is testing these services to find new revenue and gauge consumer response; Turkey has long been its basic market for digital ideas.
Garanti lets customers buy second-hand cars through its app and website. The service began with small businesses and individual customers, and is now available to all private clients. Garanti plans to extend it to more companies soon. For customers who want the latest tech without owning it, Garanti BBVA has launched an iPhone rental service. Customers can rent new Apple phones for 12 or 24 months, paying a monthly fee. At the end of the contract, they return the phone and can upgrade to a newer model. This is a rental, not a financing plan, and the phones are insured.
In September 2026, Garanti BBVA sold a portfolio of non-performing loans in Turkey valued at around 3 trillion Turkish lira. The deal closed at approximately 449 million lira after discount.
Turkey is BBVA’s new idea lab. In 2023, Garanti became the first in the group to offer bitcoin and ether custody and transfers. It later added other digital currencies. BBVA brought crypto services to Spain in 2025, following the Turkish pilot. Garanti tests new business lines first, but BBVA has not said whether it will bring these latest services to Spain.
BBVA is not the only bank trying this. In Spain, Santander has used tech rentals, including iPhones and MacBooks, to build closer ties with customers, often linking rentals to other banking products. CaixaBank has also moved beyond loans and mortgages. It now runs platforms for selling homes and cars, and also sells tech and offers tech rentals through CaixaBank Payments & Consumer. Banks are seeking new ways to retain clients and earn money outside traditional banking.
For Spanish readers, banks moving into mobility and tech is no surprise. As reported earlier, the car industry is changing fast. New models and services aimed at city drivers are changing how people get cars.
Recent corporate and investor communications describe Garanti BBVA as an active player in Turkey’s financial sector. Regulatory and antitrust proceedings reflect the environment in which the bank operates, while industry reports often cite the group’s Turkish subsidiary as a testing ground for BBVA’s digital products and risk management strategies.
BBVA’s decision to test these services in Turkey rather than Spain reflects a market open to digital change and Garanti’s strong digital systems. If the projects succeed, Spanish customers might see them later. For now, BBVA is tracking the results before making any promises.
This cautious move beyond banking fits a broader trend among big banks. BBVA’s test-first approach stands out: using Garanti as a sandbox limits risk and lets the bank move quickly if a new business line takes off. The bank is ready to push the limits of what it can do, but only if the numbers and customer feedback justify the risk.
