BBVA - Press Room

 

• BBVA simplifies its card catalogue, grouping its entire range into four modules, rendering them more user-friendly and offering higher quality service
• BBVA’s new card formats are to be named based on customer-elected payment options: Before (prepay), Now (debit), After (end of month) and As You Go (revolving)
• The Bank is incorporating the ‘Safe Card’ concept which not only anticipates migration to the EMV chip card standard, but also includes a free customer upgrade to the most comprehensive security package on the market
• The Bank, which already has a card portfolio of 10 million, aims to sign up one million new cards in the next two years

Today BBVA announced the launch of a range of unique and novel card payment methods designed to respond to customer demands in this business segment. The Bank has launched a new range, or family, of cards for retail banking customers with a triple purpose: (i) to adapt to its customers’ payment preferences, (ii) to make its cards easier to understand and use and (iii) to boost card security. Along these lines, BBVA has simplified its current range of plastic cards, grouping them into four payment modules tailored to customers’ payment choices: Before, Now, After and As You Go. These new names match card payment modules: prepay, debit, credit (end of month) and revolving.  The Bank has also incorporated the ‘Safe Card’ concept into its entire range, which not only anticipates migration to the EMV chip-card standard, but also includes a free customer upgrade to the most comprehensive security package on the market.

The electronic payment methods business segment in immersed in profound transformational change as a result of the economic slump, regulatory changes underway and the status of the card market itself, shaped by a lack of product/service differentiation. Against this backdrop, and following extensive consultation of its customers and managers, BBVA has launched a range that is differentiated and novel in the world of electronic payments, designed to respond to its customers’ needs and demands in this area.

BBVA commands a leadership position in the electronic payments segment in Spain by volume and also in terms of product innovation. It currently has 10 million cards in circulation.

Tailoring and simplicity

Customer surveys reveal that cardholders are looking for three priority attributes in a card: adaptation to their payment preferences, simplicity and user-friendliness and enhanced security.

To satisfy its customers’ demands, BBVA is launching a tailored range of cards targeted at its retail banking customers, designed to meet these needs and demands.  Marketed under the slogan “You decide when to pay”, each card format is associated with elected payment timing. Accordingly, prepaid cards are being called Before, debit cards are being labelled Now, regular credit cards paid off monthly, After, while revolving credit cards are being marketed under the name As You Go.

BBVA is simplifying its card catalogue, grouping its entire range into four formats, rendering them more user-friendly and offering higher quality service. Each of these four modules maintains all existing benefits and comes with attributes linked to the customer’s payment choice based on his or her household finances and enabling control over spending.

Greater security

In terms of customers’ card security demands, BBVA, once again ahead of the curve, is the first major bank to initiate migration over to the EMV chip card standard with which all cards must be equipped before January 1, 2011. BBVA will migrate its card portfolio over before that deadline.

The encryption of card authentication information into the chip embedded in these cards provides users with maximum security in the event of attempted ATM or retail card fraud.

The Bank will ask its customers to choose how they wish to identify themselves whenever they make a purchase, authenticating either via signature or by entering their PIN numbers. Cardholders can modify their identification choices at the Bank’s network of over 5,000 ATMs.

In addition, BBVA has created the ‘Safe Card’ concept, a free package that comes with all cards that includes:

• A mobile alert service
• Insurance against ATM muggings
• Full card fraud protection
• Emergency cash service
• Secure e-commerce transacting

Launch offers

The launch of BBVA’s new card range comes with two special offers. The first is a launch promotion on the As You Go Card which consists of a 5% discount on all purchases made using the card until January 31, 2010. The promotion also contemplates marketing this card as a complement to customers’ regular cards with limit sharing.

The second launch promotion is designed to boost card usage: all purchases made between October and December using BBVA Visa cards qualify for a daily draw of €1,000.

BBVA, which is the bellwether in the electronic payments segment in Spain, aims to sign up one million new cards in the next two years which would bring its card portfolio to 11 million.