Bizum is moving beyond person-to-person transfers in Spain. Major banks now let customers pay in physical shops with their phones, while Santander has yet to join the rollout.
Bizum has reached physical shops for millions of Spanish users. The service, best known for transfers between individuals, is now a checkout option. CaixaBank, BBVA, Banco Sabadell, Unicaja and Bankinter have activated Bizum Pay for shop payments. Banco Santander remains the biggest bank still outside the rollout.
The numbers are already large. Bizum says 20 million users can now pay in physical shops. That is 60% of everyone using the payment service. About 75% of bank terminals accept Bizum payments. They cover more than 1.6 million businesses, as well as terminals run by more than 25 major retail chains.
The physical-commerce rollout began progressively on 18 May 2026 rather than as a single nationwide launch.
CaixaBank has opened Bizum Pay to its entire customer base and has finished almost all of the work across its merchant network. More than 517,000 terminals can now process payments through the service. Since the pilot started in mid-July, CaixaBank customers have made almost 25,000 payments worth a combined 400,000 euros. Europa Press reported the bank's confirmation that the service is available to 100% of its customers.
This is more than a routine app update. People are already using Bizum Pay at tills while the banks continue to expand access.
BBVA has finished its rollout across all physical businesses connected to its network. More than 368,000 establishments can accept in-store Bizum payments through the bank's point-of-sale terminals. The rollout began in May. Merchants did not need to carry out their own development work or technical changes. Coverage is expected to grow among large retailers as they finish their adjustments, according to Roberto Pagán, BBVA's director of payment methods in Spain.
Bizum aims to make the service available to most of its 32 million users by December 2026. The timetable reflects a bank-by-bank expansion rather than an immediate switch-on for every customer in Spain.
BBVA has also added mobile Bizum payments to BBVA Pay. Banco Sabadell offers the service in more than 340,000 establishments, covering practically all of its merchant customers. It also continues to offer Bizum for person-to-person transfers. The bank says more than 78% of its customers use Bizum regularly.
Bankinter opened the service to all of its customers on Monday. Users must open the Bankinter app, select Bizum, choose Bizum Pay and download the application. They can then set up the payment method and make it the default option if they want.
Bankinter's version includes recent transaction records and digital storage for tickets, passes and other entries. Users can also add different payment methods. Unicaja has included the launch in its 2025-2027 Strategic Plan and says it will give customers more ways to use Bizum in daily life. Abanca has also added Bizum Pay for private customers and for all merchants using the bank's smart terminals.
The expansion follows an earlier stage of the same plan, described in earlier Bizum coverage, when Bankinter and CaixaBank were adding in-store access. Europa Press reports that CaixaBank sees the rollout as part of its investment in payment innovation. The bank also links it to changing shopping habits and more digital contact between customers and shops.
For customers, the change is simple. A phone can now replace a physical card at participating tills. For banks and merchants, the figures show that Bizum is no longer limited to sending money between friends. The service is now part of Spain's retail payment system across millions of terminals. Banks that have completed the rollout are competing to offer it through their own apps. As El Nacional has reported, merchants generally do not need to replace their existing datáfonos. The bank activates the service on terminals already in use.
The main story is the reach, not the launch announcement. With 20 million users able to pay in shops and more than 1.6 million businesses covered through bank terminals, Bizum Pay has moved beyond its role as a familiar transfer tool. It is becoming a mainstream way to pay in shops. Santander has yet to join, and large retailers are still completing their adjustments. For Spanish consumers, physical cards are no longer the only established way to pay at a shop counter from a bank account.
