Leading companies in various industries join forces to address the challenges posed by emerging consumer habits
Barcelona, 30/03/2017
• 5 million euros will be invested in the Barcelona-based Payment Innovation Hub, which will have a dedicated multidisciplinary team and a facility designed to be conducive to brainstorming, creativity, and shared innovation.
• The new hub will allow the partners to jointly develop innovative payment solutions and new purchase experiences that harness emergent technologies and cater to new social trends.
CaixaBank, Global Payments Inc., Visa, Samsung and Arval have joined forces to set up the Payment Innovation Hub, Spain’s first innovation hub for commerce and payment methods. The hub is among the first where multiple industry leaders from around the world will research and develop innovative payment solutions together.
The project was announced today in Barcelona at an event attended by Juan Alcaraz, Chairman of CaixaBank Payments and Managing Director of CaixaBank; Frank Young, Senior Vice President, Global Product and Innovation of Global Payments; Victor Kim, EMEA Director of Samsung Pay; Bertrand Sava, Regional Managing Director Southern Europe of Visa Europe; and Christophe Conegero, New Business General Manager of Arval.
The objective behind the Payment Innovation Hub is to present society with the best possible user experiences in purchases and commerce, both online and offline. The centre, which will be located in Barcelona, will specialise in research into new commerce solutions to cater to emergent consumer habits.
By setting up the hub, these partners will work together on projects to generate synergies and promote co-creation and learning, building on their experience at the forefront of innovation in their respective industries. The hub will also be open to collaboration with third party research companies (start-ups, SMEs and major corporations) and institutions, in order to jointly shape the payment technology solutions of tomorrow.
Investments of 5 million euros have been earmarked over the next 3 years to get the hub up and running.
A multipurpose space for a multidisciplinary team
A dedicated and multidisciplinary R&D team will operate at the Payment Innovation Hub, combining purely tech professionals with specialists in market analysis, business development and marketing. Any other partners deemed necessary may also be brought in for specific projects, whether these be individuals or start-ups.
Three areas of research have been identified:
- Automobiles: Research into solutions for connected cars.
- Home: Innovation for domestic applications, particularly regarding the Internet of Things (IoT).
- Commerce: Projects aimed at driving the shopping experience, both online at brick-and-mortar stories.
A space designed for innovation
The hub will have its own custom designed offices, conceived as a space conducive to brainstorming, creativity and shared innovation, with all the infrastructure and resources that these require.
The office will be comprised of meeting rooms and workspaces. The innovation lab will be the hub’s nerve centre, where projects will be put through their paces in conditions that simulate real life situations. The facility will be equipped with all the tools required to measure technological behaviour, usability, and customer response.
The Payment Innovation Hub will also feature a space for outreach and training, which will include conference rooms and host regular masterclasses, as well as an area dedicated to showcasing and testing the latest technological developments.