Bizum's in-store payment service now reaches 20 million people in Spain. It works across 75% of payment terminals, but banks still decide which customers can use it.
Bizum's in-store payment system has reached 20 million people in Spain. Access still depends on each customer's bank. The service is available across 75% of banking payment terminals and covers more than 1.6 million businesses.
That gives Bizum a wide retail network. One step remains outside the company's control: each bank must activate the option for its own customers. According to figures attributed to Bizum by Europa Press and Expansión, the 20 million people represent around 60% of the platform's user base.
For shoppers, the process is not automatic. Their bank must notify them, and the shop must have the service enabled on its existing payment terminal. Until both conditions are met, Bizum may be widely accepted in Spain without being available to every person who uses the platform.
The first phase of in-store Bizum payments began on 18 May 2026 and was rolled out gradually to customers and businesses.
The coverage already reaches around 60% of Bizum users, and transactions are rising. During the latest weeks of this first rollout phase, active users averaged three physical payments per week.
The infrastructure is less of a problem than the bank's decision to enable the service.
Businesses generally do not need to replace their payment machines. A shop that wants to offer Bizum can contact its bank and request activation on the terminal it already uses. More establishments are also displaying the option at the point of sale so customers can see it before paying. EFE, in a report carried by Infobae, also described activation on existing terminals as a condition for the physical rollout.
Bizum has more than 30 million users in Spain overall, but physical-store payments currently reach only the customers whose banks have activated the feature. The gap explains why broad terminal coverage does not yet mean universal access at the checkout.
More than 25 major retail chains in different sectors have introduced physical Bizum payments, although the pace varies. Some have enabled the service across their entire networks. Others are adding it gradually. The figures describe a market in transition, not a payment option available to everyone.
CaixaBank shows how much the rollout depends on individual institutions. The bank has said that 100% of its customers can download the application and activate Bizum payments in shops. It has also nearly finished deployment across its retail network, with more than 517,000 terminals already enabled.
Bizum expects banks to speed up the expansion so more customers and businesses can use the service in everyday situations. The system is designed to work without contact and charge the user's bank account directly. Customers can pay through the banking applications of participating institutions or through Bizum Pay.
The specific channel depends on the bank. Some institutions build the function into their own applications. Others use the Bizum Pay wallet.
Bizum Pay is now also available in English and in Spain's co-official languages. The change accompanies the launch of the
