BBVA launches easier mobile account opening
Spanish Bank BBVA has launched Online Onboarding, a service allowing the bank's customers to open an account using their mobile phone. To use the service, customers need to download the BBVA app, then upload photo ID and take a selfie that the bank verifies using facial-recognition technology. Lastly, a member of BBVA's staff confirms the user's identity via a video call. The bank has not specified whether staff will be available around the clock for video calls, or whether this will be limited to the firm's working hours.

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Spanish bank BBVA has launched a new service, Online Onboarding, which will allow consumers to open a BBVA account in a matter of minutes via their mobile device and use their account immediately.

To initiate the process, a user first has to download BBVA's banking app. Then, they must upload a photo ID and take a selfie that the bank verifies using facial-recognition technology.

In the final step, a BBVA employee confirms the new customer's identity via a video call. Customers are not charged an administration fee for opening an account. The bank says Online Onboarding was designed to save customers time and to meet their demand for more mobile banking services.

However, it is unclear whether this new process will actually be more efficient. BBVA has not clarified whether its employees will be available 24/7 for the video calls: If they are not, and a customer can only open an account during the bank's working hours, the process will not be much more convenient than going down to a branch in person and waiting for an available employee. Introducing new verification methods that enable an account to be opened quickly will not be very useful unless the last step in the process, which depends on bank staff, can also be tailored to consumers' convenience.

Mobile payments are becoming more popular, but they still face some high barriers, such as consumers' continued loyalty to traditional payment methods and fragmented acceptance among merchants. But as loyalty programs are integrated and more consumers rely on their mobile wallets for other features like in-app payments, adoption and usage will surge over the next few years.

Evan Bakker, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile payments that forecasts the growth of in-store mobile payments in the U.S., analyzes the performance of major mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, and addresses the barriers holding mobile payments back as well as the benefits that will propel adoption.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

In our latest US in-store mobile payments forecast, we find that volume will reach $75 billion this year. We expect volume to pick up significantly by 2020, reaching $503 billion. This reflects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 80% between 2015 and 2020.

Consumer interest is the primary barrier to mobile payments adoption. Surveys indicate that the issue is less the mobile wallet itself and more that people remain loyal to traditional payment methods and show little enthusiasm for picking up new habits.

Integrated loyalty programs and other add-on features will be key to mobile wallets taking off. Consumers are showing interest in wallets with integrated loyalty programs. Other potential add-ons, like in-app, in-browser, and P2P payments, will also start fueling adoption. This strategy has been proved successful in China with platforms like WeChat and Alipay.

In full, the report:



Forecasts the growth of US in-store mobile payments volume and users through 2020.

Measures mobile wallet user engagement by forecasting mobile payments' share of their annual retail spending.

Reviews the performance of major mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Addresses the key barriers that are preventing mobile in-store payments from taking off.

Identifies the growth drivers that will ultimately carve a path for mainstream adoption.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of how mobile payments are rapidly evolving.