On 6 November, Iberpay held its 20th birthday celebrations in Madrid's Neptuno Palace. The guest list included big names from the banking sector, infrastructure firms and payment services providers, alongside the Bank of Spain and other institutions.

It was an opportunity to look back on Iberpay's 20 years as a key player in developing the Spanish payments system. Throughout this time the company has successfully anticipated the many changes in the sector, adapted to a demanding environment and driven innovation. Its sure-footedness in managing constant change and pioneering collaborative solutions has been vital in establishing Spanish banking as a European leader. The event was also a chance to reflect on the upcoming challenges posed by current technological and regulatory transformation.

In the words of Juan Luis Encinas, Iberpay CEO:

“20 years on, we can proudly boast that Iberpay has led the modernisation of the Spanish banking system, made a decisive contribution to the single European payments market and established the Spanish banking sector as a payments pioneer. But, more importantly, Iberpay has revealed a deeper truth: when a sector works together toward a shared vision it can rise to any challenge.”

Javier Santamaría, Chairman of Iberpay’s Board of Directors, underlined Iberpay's talent for mixing innovation with stability, pointing up collaboration as a driver of shared progress: “For two decades, Iberpay has been the meeting point for market participants, government authorities and technology. A space for consensus-building and cooperation where market competition is tempered by collaboration, for the greater good of the financial system and wider society.” Santamaria also stressed the key role played by people, and the importance of sound governance and a shared vision to drive progress in a constantly shifting environment.

Carlos Sanz, head of Payment Systems at the Bank of Spain, focused on Iberpay's contribution to developing the Spanish payments system and its decisive role in fully integrating the single European market. He noted that Spain is now recognised as an instant payments pioneer, thanks to the industry’s willingness to work together and its technological drive. He also stressed the need to keep strengthening efficient, resilient and sustainable payments infrastructures: “Iberpay's track record shows that when the sector works as one, the results are extraordinary. Collaboration will be all the more vital in coming years, as we face the challenges of digitisation, cybersecurity and new technologies.”

In e-commerce, BBVA saw Bizum as a real alternative to cards, providing “payment in seconds from the bank, with less friction and greater conversion”, thanks to the infrastructure run by Iberpay.

For his part, Amazon’s Arnau Bertran stressed that users increasingly value privacy and simplicity when it comes to payments: “The challenge now is to scale up to more use cases, like recurrent payments, repayments, marketplaces, etc, and consolidate coverage and resilience.”

From Mapfre, Pablo Viñuales stressed the direct impact on relationships with policy-holders. Claims are paid in seconds. Premium payments and reimbursements are simpler. And reconciliation can be done in near-real time. “The result is more agile customer service at critical moments, slicker processing and greater predictability in cash management”, he concluded.

and making repayments. She underlined its effectiveness in cutting identity fraud, streamlining transactions and improving the customer experience, “with zero additional friction in the process”.

Antonio Alonso focused on these innovative qualities: “Nextia is modular and cloud-ready, cuts time-to-launch for new services and can be deployed either on-premises or in the cloud.” Gómez Solis highlighted the direct impact the new infrastructure was having on service continuity and its role as a key element in sector resilience: “With Nextia, Iberpay has created a stronger financial system that can run continuously, securely and scalably—guaranteeing the stability and efficiency that the market demands.”

All speakers agreed that the financial system was moving into a new world of always-on operation and cyber-resilience, where industry cross-coordination would be vital. In this brave new world, Nextia embodies Iberpay’s commitment to a modern, scalable and future-facing infrastructure.