Contactless and mobile payments

Overview

Spain has widely adopted contactless payments, and also has its own hugely popular mobile payment system, Bizum, used for instant person-to-person transfers using just a phone number.

Requirements

• A Spanish bank card supports contactless by default in almost all cases
• Bizum requires your bank to participate (nearly all major Spanish banks do) and a Spanish mobile number linked to your account

Step-by-step process

• For contactless card payments, simply tap your card or phone (via a linked mobile wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay) at the terminal — no PIN needed below a certain amount, which the terminal will indicate
• To set up Bizum, activate it through your bank's app, linking it to your mobile number
• To send a Bizum payment, open your banking app, select Bizum, and enter the recipient's phone number and amount — no IBAN needed
• To receive a Bizum payment, simply share your phone number with the sender

Required documents

• Active Spanish bank account and card
• Spanish mobile number, for Bizum

Common mistakes

• Assuming Bizum works with any bank account — while nearly universal among Spanish banks, it's worth confirming yours participates
• Not realising Bizum has transaction limits (commonly a minimum of €0.50 and a maximum of €1,000 per transaction, with monthly caps on the number and total value of transactions received) — for larger amounts, a standard transfer is needed instead

Practical tips

• Bizum is free for personal use and is the standard way Spaniards split bills or send money to friends — worth setting up early, since it's genuinely part of everyday life in Spain
• Mobile wallet payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay) generally work anywhere contactless card payments are accepted

How Tuchati can help

If you're not sure how to set up Bizum or contactless payments with your specific bank, Tuchati can walk you through it.