CaixaBank, Global Payments, Samsung, Visa and Arval will set up their commerce and payment methods innovation hub at Barcelona’s Pier01

• The Payment Innovation Hub is set to occupy 1,000 square metres of the building, featuring a number of different work areas, exhibition spaces, training rooms and an auditorium.
• The hub’s mission is to provide society with outstanding user experiences in shopping and commerce.

The Payment Innovation Hub for commerce and payment methods, backed by partners CaixaBank, Global Payments Inc., Samsung, Visa and Arval, will be based at Pier 01, the Barcelona Tech City digital start-up cluster.

The hub will occupy 1,000 m2 of the basement floor, featuring workspaces for the team, as well as the full array of services required for R&D projects: coworking zones, phone booth spaces for conferences and videoconferences, training and masterclass rooms, outreach areas for exhibitions and demonstrations, and so on.

There will also be an auditorium with capacity for 180 people, which will host activities at the hub, as well as any third-party events seeking a space associated with innovation and creativity. One of the hub’s main goals is to open R&D projects to partnership with third-party research companies (start-ups, SMEs, and major corporations) and organisations, taking a collaborative approach to shaping the payment methods of tomorrow. The hub is also set to have a smaller space on the first floor of Pier01.

Work is set to begin on repurposing the space this summer, and the hub is due to open in late 2017.

Spain’s first commerce and payment methods innovation hub

The mission of the Payment Innovation Hub is to provide society with outstanding user experiences in online and offline shopping and commerce.

This represents Spain's first commerce and payment methods innovation hub, and one of the first worldwide to feature several partners, each a leader in their respective industries, coming together to work on R&D initiatives.

Investment of 5 million euros has been earmarked over the next 3 years to get the hub up and running.

Industry leaders working as a team

The aim is to build and establish a world-leading innovation hub in payment methods. Indeed, the partner companies behind the initiative are among the most innovative anywhere in the world in their respective areas of specialisation.

CaixaBank is considered a major driver of innovation in financial services worldwide, serving 5.4 million online banking customers, of which 3.8 million are regular mobile banking users. The bank leads the electronic banking market, with more than 15.6 million cards in circulation and a market share in terms of turnover of 23.3%. It was one of the first banks anywhere in the world to commercially launch contactless payment systems and mobile payment platforms, winning it numerous international awards. For further information: https://www.caixabank.com

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is a leading worldwide provider of payment technology services that delivers innovative solutions driven by customer needs globally. Our technologies, partnerships and employee expertise enable us to provide a broad range of products and services that allow our customers to accept all payment types across a variety of distribution channels in many markets around the world.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with more than 8,500 employees worldwide, Global Payments is a member of the S&P 500 with merchants and partners in 30 countries throughout North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and Brazil. For more information about Global Payments, our Service. Driven. Commerce brand and our technologies, please visit www.globalpaymentsinc.com.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants.

Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit our website (www.visaeurope.com), the Visa Vision blog (vision.visaeurope.com), and @VisaInEurope

Arval: Founded in 1989 and fully owned by BNP Paribas, Arval specializes in full service vehicle leasing. Arval offers its customers – large international corporates, SMEs and professionals – tailored solutions that optimise their employees’ mobility and outsource the risks associated with fleet management. Expert advice and service quality, which are the foundations of Arval’s customer promise, are delivered in 28 countries by over 6,400 employees. Arval’s total leased fleet adds up to 1,028,142 vehicles throughout the world (December 2016). Arval is a founding member of the Element-Arval Global Alliance, the longest standing strategic alliance in the fleet management industry and the worldwide leader with 3 million vehicles in 50 countries. Within BNP Paribas, Arval belongs to the Retail Banking core activity. For further information: https://www.arval.com