la Caixa wins the award for the world's most innovative bank

More than 200 banks from 40 countries take part in the Global Banking Innovation Awards

• Isidro Fainé: leadership and innovation are two cornerstones of the "la Caixa" corporate culture, with its strategy based on customer satisfaction and service excellence.
• "la Caixa" was also a finalist of the Global Banking Innovation Awards in the innovative services category, with its new Línea Abierta service.
• The bank is the market leader in online banking, mobile banking and electronic banking, with the largest number of customers in Spain and offering high-quality and accessible services.

Today in Chicago (United States) "la Caixa" was awarded the prize for the world's most innovative bank at the Global Banking Innovation Awards, sponsored by the Bank Administration Institute and Finacle. The bank was also a finalist in the innovative services category for its new Línea Abierta, the online banking platform.

"la Caixa", chaired by Isidro Fainé and directed by Juan María Nin, was declared the winner out of more than 200 banks across 40 countries, thanks to its sustained innovation in retail banking services.

Isidro Fainé, "la Caixa"'s chairman, said "the award represents recognition of the bank's constant efforts to develop and incorporate technological developments, providing our customers with complete and high-quality services to help them better manage their finances".

"Leadership and innovation are two cornerstones of the "la Caixa" corporate culture, with a strategy based on customer satisfaction and service excellence", assured Isidro Fainé. 

Leader in mobile services

"la Caixa" is currently the leading operator in online banking via Línea Abierta (more than 6.8 million customers), in mobile banking (over 2.1 million customers, the largest number of financial services users in Spain) and electronic banking (with more than 10.4 million cards).

This leadership is also founded on high-quality services, with "la Caixa" being the highest rated bank for its online banking services, according to the latest research from AQMetrix. "la Caixa"'s Línea Abierta allows users to carry out more than 900 different operations and is available in 19 languages.

The new Línea Abierta, one of the world's most innovative services

"la Caixa" was also a finalist at the awards for its new Línea Abierta platform, as the most innovative service. The new Línea Abierta boasts a clearer and more intuitive design, prioritising the information that is most essential for users.

When creating the new design the views and recommendations of customers were taken into account, while numerous user tests were also carried out. The menus have been simplified and the process of contracting products and making balance enquiries has been streamlined.

A pioneer in mobile banking

The bank was one of the first to adopt mobile banking in Spain, and now tops all industry polls for this service. "la Caixa" is the only bank in the world to have its own applications store, CaixaMóvil Store, with more than 40 different apps available, all free to download and customised to the various mobile operating systems.

"la Caixa" was also the first Spanish bank to offer customers the new contactless payment system, available through cards or phones equipped with NFC chips. The contactless payment system already in place across the Balearic Islands allows customers to pay quickly when out shopping.

"la Caixa"'s leadership has seen it join several international working groups, including the Mobey Forum, an association of the world's leading companies aimed at promoting the development of mobile banking.

The bank's innovation and commitment are also evident in its effort to make ATMs accessible to all users. "la Caixa" ATMs now include sign language help videos for those with hearing disabilities and keyboards adapted for the visually impaired.

Bank Administration Institute
Bank Administration Institute is an innovation consultant for the banking industry, based in Chicago (USA) and with more than 80 years of experience.

Infosys Technologies
Infosys Technologies was founded in 1981 in Pune (India) and is the world leader in identifying and designing technology solutions. It operates in 73 countries.

Finacle
Finacle is a consultant to the banking industry, founded in 2000 by Infosys Technologies. It specialises in innovation projects.