New Year, New You? Spain’s BBVA looking to sell financial services on Amazon

But it’s starting off with recycled aprons, tote bags, and pouches.

Tech-savvy Spanish bank BBVA started the new year with aplomb this week by announcing a partnership with online retail giant Amazon.

The unlikely pairing will see BBVA moving to sell, not financial services, but recycled aprons, tote bags, and pouches…

To begin with, the bank is working with a Spanish Michelin three-star restaurant which creates these products through its project to recycle disused goods.

However, BBVA is clear that it will soon shift from pouches to financial products after this pilot project “where it can trial the functionality of the world’s largest e-commerce portal”.

"Currently BBVA already sells close to 60 percent of its products over digital channels. Selling through Amazon would extend online sales opportunities, complementing the bank’s proprietary digital channels."

The bank is open that the concept of selling banking products on Amazon is “an idea still to be fully explored” and it’s unclear whether Amazon is involved with the idea.

“Amazon has not yet moved into selling financial services directly, and BBVA recognizes that financial institutions must adapt to this way of selling.”

BBVA has always been fairly digitally-savvy, with its stakes in fintechs like Atom Bank, Holvi, SolarisBank and ownership of US digital bank Simple, Mexican payments group OpenPay.