BBVA ensures the deployment of its no-number card

BBVA has new ambitions for its Aqua card, which has no number. It is currently rolling out the card on the American continent. This is an opportunity for the Spanish bank to highlight the success of its initiative, which was first launched in its home country.

FACTS

• BBVA presented its Aqua card last October. It has no PAN number, no expiration date and no CVV. This last number will also be dynamic and can only be accessed via the application.

• Alternatively, they can also use the application to make payments in store.

• The card is also made from recycled plastic in order to respect the environment.

• Since its launch, more than one million Aqua cards have been issued in Spain. It has become the most widely distributed card in the BBVA range.

• Today, BBVA wants to apply this winning model across the Atlantic. The group's Latin American subsidiaries are now involved in the distribution of this card, which is presented as being more secure and more environmentally friendly.

• The Aqua card has been available in Mexico since June for new customers and will soon be available for old customers when they renew their cards.

• It will be distributed next month in Peru and Colombia.

CHALLENGES

• Accompanying the change in usage by merging payment cards and mobile payment: With the advent of mobile payment and online payment, usage has changed. BBVA's survey shows that security, planning and control of spending, as well as the ability to perform a large number of transactions via cell phones, are the most important attributes.

• Making payment supports more sustainable: The Aqua card's commitment to the environment is not new to the group. BBVA has just launched a range of recycled PVC cards in Argentina and plans to renew its entire fleet in that country in the medium term.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• BBVA was one of the first historical banks to follow Apple's innovative model by removing visual information from its cards.

• Cards are still a preferred payment medium, but there is a fundamental trend towards their renewal. For example, in addition to the disappearance of numbers, MasterCard is considering abandoning the magnetic stripe on its cards by 2033.