CaixaBank supports "wearable banking" with the launch of applications for SmartWatch and Google Glass devices

• The bank has created services that allow users to follow the stock markets via smartwatches and locate branches and convert currencies using Google Glass augmented reality.

CaixaBank has become the world's first bank to design an application for smartwatches (a watch device that synchronises with mobile phones). The service, which is already available for the SmartWatch 2 from Sony, allows users to follow the stock markets via their watches.

The application lets users choose stocks and indices from international markets (IBEX35, Dow Jones, NASDAQ, Eurostoxx, etc.) and follow them on their smartwatches. The watch will display recent price information for each stock and index, as well as fluctuations since the start of the market session. Should users want more detailed information, selecting the stock on the smartwatch screen will automatically open the CaixaBank stock market application on their mobile device, displaying full information for the selected stock.

The smartwatch service is included in the latest update for the Bolsa Abierta application for Android provided by CaixaBank. It can now be downloaded for free via Google Play or the CaixaBank app store, CaixaMóvil Store.

Application for Google Glass

The smartwatch application is part of a new line of mobile services designed for wearable technology, featuring financial applications that are tailored specifically to devices that users can wear.

As well as the smartwatch application, CaixaBank has also prepared a service designed specifically for Google Glass. The application, one of the world's first for this new gadget from the financial sector, adapts two of the most frequently used CaixaBank services on conventional mobiles: a branch finder based on augmented reality and a currency convertor.

The CaixaBank application will show Google Glass users, superimposed on the screen, where to find the nearest CaixaBank branch, the direction they need to travel, how far away it is and the branch telephone number in case they need to call ahead. Customers can also uses the voice service: by simply stating a location or an address, the Google Glass will display all the branches nearest to that point.

Meanwhile, the CaixaBank currency converter for Google Glass runs calculations when the user activates the application and focuses the glasses on a product's price tag. The equivalent amount will appear superimposed on the screen using augmented reality. The service allows users to choose any input and output currencies in the world.

The CaixaBank branch finder and currency converter applications are ready for use, and will be launched once Google officially opens the Google Glass application market in the United States.

CaixaBank, a global leader in mobile banking and innovation

CaixaBank is Spain's leading bank in innovation. It has 3.9 million mobile service customers. 1.9 million customers use its mobile banking channel each month, while its mobile apps have been downloaded more than 8 million times. It also has 9 million online customers and, according to Comscore, its website is the sixth most visited in Spain.

The bank is also the market leader in electronic banking with over 12.5 million cards in circulation, more than 3 million of which are contactless-ready. It also has Spain's largest ATM network, with close to 10,000 machines.

CaixaBank is considered one of the world's leaders in innovation and new technologies. It has won numerous awards, including the award for World's Most Innovative Bank at the 2013 Global Banking Innovation Awards, run by the Bank Administration Institute (BAI) and Finacle.