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Spain’s popular payment platform Bizum has officially started rolling out payments in physical shops and restaurants, marking another big step in the country’s move towards faster and more digital ways to pay.

 

The launch began on Monday May 18, although banks and industry sources have stressed that this is only the beginning of a gradual rollout. The aim is for the system to become widely available to Bizum’s more than 31 million users before the end of 2026.

 

For many people in Spain, Bizum is already part of daily life for splitting restaurant bills, sending money to family or paying small businesses. Now, customers will slowly begin seeing it appear as a payment option in physical stores too.

 

The move comes just months after Bizum introduced new “tap-to-pay” technology designed to bring the platform closer to traditional card and mobile wallet payments.

 

At the moment, CaixaBank and BBVA account for a particularly large share of Bizum users. According to data from consultancy firm Inmark, around 9.25 million CaixaBank customers already use the service, while BBVA has approximately 5.4 million Bizum users linked to its accounts.

 

Banco Santander, ING, Kutxabank, Unicaja, Sabadell and Bankinter also have strong levels of customer adoption, while Revolut has rapidly expanded its Bizum use since integrating the platform in late 2024.

 

The expansion into shops and restaurants is happening at a time when Bizum is already growing rapidly online. The platform is now accepted in more than 120,000 e-commerce businesses and reportedly represents between 20% and 30% of online transactions in some sectors.

 

Industry figures say Spaniards made an average of more than 3.4 million instant Bizum transfers every day last year.

 

Behind the scenes, banks are also keen to strengthen European payment alternatives to major international systems such as Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

 

A major milestone is expected in June with the arrival of the Bizum Pay app, which will allow customers to pay either through participating banking apps or through Bizum’s own digital wallet system.

 

At the same time, new payment technologies including biometric fingerprint systems are also beginning to gain attention in Spain’s banking sector.

 

Supermarket chains and retailers are still working through technical integration and compatibility issues, with businesses taking a cautious approach to avoid system problems during the early stages of the rollout.

 

Even so, for millions of shoppers across Spain, paying with Bizum at the checkout may soon become just as normal as using a bank card.