la Caixa awarded the Banking Technology prize for its new mobile payment system

• The bank is the first in Europe to commercially roll out a mobile payments system with real transactions.

"la Caixa" has been awarded the Banking Technology prize in London, which recognises the best international mobile banking initiative. The bank, chaired by Isidro Fainé and directed by Juan María Nin, has won the award in recognition of its NFC mobile payments system, the first in Europe to have a large-scale roll out with real users.

"la Caixa" currently has the most extensive mobile payment infrastructure in Europe, covering the entirety of the Balearic Islands and parts of Catalonia.

Furthermore, the bank has pioneered the commercial use of mobile payments with real users. The town of Sitges, near Barcelona, was the first European city to be equipped with a large-scale contactless payment system. In early 2010 "la Caixa" provided its clients in Sitges (both individuals and businesses) with NFC-ready mobiles and dataphones that operate real transactions.

In 2011, "la Caixa" installed contactless payment systems, using both  mobile NFC and contactless cards, across the entire Balearic Islands. Over the next few months the system will also be rolled out to other locations in Spain.

The first world's ATM to use mobile telephone authentication

"la Caixa" is also driving forward the use of contactless technology in ATMs, allowing users to operate machines by simply passing their mobile device close to a sensor. This makes "la Caixa" the world's first bank to provide ATMs that allow cash withdrawals or balance enquiries using a mobile phone instead of a conventional card. "la Caixa" now operates a total of six contactless ATMs.

The bank's commitment to mobile payment systems comes as part of its leadership in the mobile banking sector. "la Caixa" has 2.2 million users in Spain and offers more than 50 mobile applications, which have been downloaded more than 2 million times over the last twelve months.
It was recently awarded the prize for the most innovative bank at the Global Banking Innovation Awards held in Chicago (USA) and run by the Bank Administration Institute and Finacle.