Spain

Delivered August 23rd, 2019. Contributors: Folarin O., Eunice O., Cristina G., Parismarie W., Eunice A., Regina, Joe K., Lu J., Amos T., Ticia A., Aleksandar G. and

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Business Statistics: Spain

In 2018 there was a total number of 2,664,984 businesses/enterprises in Spain. The Structural Business Statistics Database broke them down by Micro, Small, Medium-Sized, SMEs, and Large businesses based on their headcount and revenue. Based on the latest report presented, 99,231 new businesses started operating in Spain in 2016.

BUSINESS STATISTICS IN SPAINBased on the estimates presented by the Structural Business Statistics Database (Eurostat) and DIW Econ, in 2018 there were a total of 2,664,984 business/enterprises in Spain.
The official report breaks down the business based on their annual revenue and employee count by Micro, Small, Medium-Sized, SMEs, and Large.
In 2014, 56.3% of all businesses in Spain were self-employed workers with 0 employees. 
 95.0% of all businesses operating in Spain had less than 10 employees in 2018.
In 2018, 99.9 % of the total businesses in Spain were SMEs with less than 250 employees.
During the same year, 2018, 99.9 % of all companies in Spain were SMEs.
According to the European Commission, the annual turnover of European SMEs is less than or equal to €50 million and they have a balance sheet of less than €43 million.
Based on the data presented by the World Bank Group, 99,231 new registered businesses started operating in Spain in 2016.

OTHER RELEVANT STATISTICSThe total number of Micro Businesses in Spain with less than 10 employees was 2,530,964in 2018.
In 2018 the total number of SMEs with less 250 employees in Spain was 2,661,791.
Research Strategy:We began by doing exhaustive research of all businesses that have less than €50 million in annual turnover (revenue) in Spain by analyzing data from global publications and precompiled information the breakdown and proportion.

While the 2018 SBA Fact Sheet provided the information that 99.9% of all businesses in Spain in 2018 were SMEs, the report did not bring enough data to reveal the proportion of businesses that generated less than €50 million in annual revenue.

With this data in mind, we endeavored to triangulate the proportion of all businesses that have less than €50 million in annual turnover or revenue. We were able to find through the website of the European Commission, that SMEs are companies that generate less than €50 million in annual turnover. Thanks to this, and knowing that the percentage of SMEs in Spain was 99.9%, we could determine that 99.9% of all business in Spain generate less than €50 million EUR in annual turnover (revenue).
 
Additionally, to get the most recent data of the number of self-employed, and new businesses, we conducted an exhaustive search through global reports provided by the European Union, The World Bank and other databases like Statista. The most recent data available was found in a report by the European Union, and the website of The World Bank. Both reports were published in 2017 and 2019 respectively and backdated a few years. This may be because the compilation and publication of this data are not done annually by these international bodies.

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Co-Working Space: Spain

Impact Hub, Regus, Spaces, WeWork, and OneCoreWork are the major co-working space providers with at least three locations in Spain.
 IMPACT HUB The company has locations in Zaragoza, Vigo, Madrid, and San Sebastian.
 REGUS The company has locations in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Valencia, Bilbao, Marbella, and Seville.
 SPACES Currently the company has four locations in Madrid and two in Barcelona.
 WEWORK The company has five locations in Barcelona and five in Madrid.
 ONECOREWORK The company has three locations in Barcelona.
RESEARCH STRATEGYTo provide major co-working space providers that have at least three locations in Spain, we leveraged information from sources like Online Marketplaces and Startup Explore. These sources provided the names of the major companies that are players in this industry and also provided their locations. We then chose companies with at least three locations in Spain.

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Registering a New Company: Spain

Spain has a strong domestic market and boasts substantial purchasing power and an ideal base for expanding operations in third-country markets within the European Union, North Africa and Latin America. However, starting and running a business in the country can be very challenging due to complicated regulatory complexity and red tape.

STARTING A NEW BUSINESS IN SPAIN Overview According to TMF report, Spain has a strong domestic market and boasts substantial purchasing power. The geographic location of Spain is an ideal base for expanding operations in third-country markets within the European Union, North Africa and Latin America. 
However, starting and running a business in the country is very complicated due to regulatory complexity and red tape. 
In World Bank Group economic profile of the country, Spain ranked #30 in "Ease of Doing Business", garnering a 77.68 score out of 100. It is lower than the regional average set by OECD for high income. 
For "Starting A Business" ranking, Spain is placed at #86 with an 86.91 score which is also below the regional average by OECD standard of 91.9 score. 
Additionally, The World Bank released data which identifies "the bureaucratic and legal hurdles that an entrepreneur must overcome to incorporate and register a new firm" for startup firms or small to medium-sized businesses. The report compares the procedures, time and costs of various cities/locations in Spain and ranked them.
According to the data, Seville and Madrid were ranked in position #1 and #2 respectively as top cities for starting a business. Both cities have an average of 7 procedures to go through when registering and incorporating a startup firm and it usually takes 14 days. 
At the bottom place are Melilla and Ceuta. Melilla has an average of 11 procedures that take 20.5 days, while Ceuta has 10 procedures that take 30.5 days. 

Setting Up A New Business and Business Bank Account  Private Limited Liability Company is the most popular structure for new businesses in Spain.
For a foreign company, the owner must first obtain the NIE number. This identification number is the most essential thing non-resident needs to operate the business freely such as registering a company and opening a bank account. 
For a non-resident but a European Union resident, one only needs a green card to register a new business. 
The company must obtain a no-name coincidence certificate to make sure that the company name is not already taken. Once this is obtained, the company can be applied for registration to The Mercantile Registry. 
Next is opening a bank account. This process is required early on in registering a new company. For LLC, the paid-in capital of 3,000€ must be deposited in this account. 
Upon establishing shareholders and directors of the company, all the documents including NIE/Greencard (for foreigner), bank certificate and certificate from the Registro Mercantile are required to sign the deed to the notary.  
Lastly, the company must register to the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria).
The process of acquiring a business bank account approval generally takes 3 weeks, while the process of the actual incorporating or registering of business is also takes 3 weeks. 

Challenges in starting a new business and opening a bank account As mentioned above, one of the most common challenges for starting a new company and registering a business in Spain is facing bureaucratic hoops and red tape. Navigating several stages and procedures can be discouraging to entrepreneurs.
 Paying taxes is also a time-consuming procedure where a business needs to " deal with eight separate payments" which take about 167 hours a year. 
Another challenge is the Spanish culture. It dictates a "no one-size-fits-all approach to doing business" due to its cultural diversity reflected in different locations in the country.
Opening a business bank account is relatively easy provided that one can submit all business documents required. However, for non-residents, it would require another procedure, that while many of Spanish banks allows non-resident accounts some standard documentation needs to be processed. 
One is acquiring a non-residency certificate which can be obtained from the Spanish police authorities and the process takes 10 days, which is also time-consuming.

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FinTech Climate: Spain

There is an overall positive perception of FinTech companies and startups in Spain, with their use growing among consumers. Spanish FinTech startups have been experiencing a lot of growth, even with regulations in place for FinTech development in Spain.
SPANISH FINTECH LAWSCrowdfunding has been regulated in Spain, as the government imposes a maximum cap per person.
Even with Spanish crowdfunding regulations, crowdfunding has become a major source of financial backing for FinTech companies in Spain.
The CNMV, a regulatory body in Spain, handles FinTech development. 
There have been more laws placed on banks than on the FinTech industry in Spain.
There are no regulations currently in place for FinTech companies that start up outside of Spain but are looking to enter the Spanish market.
The major banking corporation Banco de España and the CNMV implemented a financial education project in Spain. The project was created to increase the population’s financial literacy levels, along with improving their habits and behaviors. 
SPANISH FINTECH COMPANIESAccording to Zunzunegui Abogados, Spanish banks often partner with major FinTech companies with the understanding that it will add value to their portfolio. However, they are also cautious of FinTech companies as competitors.
 60% of FinTech CEOs are expecting their businesses to grow more than 80% in 2019. 
Due to the positive perception of Spanish FinTech companies, large corporations such as N26 are looking to open new markets in Spain. 
Banks were poorly perceived by consumers in Spain for quite some time due to a confidence crisis, according to Zunzunegui Abogados. Therefore, FinTech industries flourished in Spain.
FinTechs see reputation as a problem in expanding their businesses due to the aforementioned perceptions of FinTechs and banks in Spain.
SPANISH FINTECH STARTUPSAccording to a Zunzunegui Abogados report, industries in Spain fully support FinTech startups and often invest in them or acquire them. 
Over the past six years, the number of Spanish FinTech startups has grown from 50 to over 200.
Of those FinTech startups, 117 emerged within a 15-month time period in Spain.
Investments in European FinTech startups totaled $4.7 billion in 2017 and are expected to grow, which is beneficial for Spain.
The City of Barcelona contributes 60% of the total investment amount in startups in Spain, which creates a conducive environment to launch FinTech startups.
Spanish startups in FinTech increased their revenue by over €30 million in 2018. 
FINTECH ADOPTION RATES IN SPAINThe FinTech adoption rate in Spain for 2017 was 37%. Spain's adoption rate is above the 2017 global average of 33% and above markets such as Germany, Japan, South Korea, the United States, South Africa, and Mexico.
Spain's FinTech adoption rate increased to 56% in 2019, which is still above markets in Italy, Canada, and the United States.
CONSUMER USE OF FINTECHPeople in Spain have an overall positive perception of technological changes in the FinTech industry. 
Millennials are the largest group of users of the FinTech industry in Spain. 
According to NovoBrief, FinTech is used in Spain in the following areas: Payments, personal lending, person to person payments, Forex, personal finance, equity crowdfunding, Bitcoin, credit solutions, investment tools, and loyalty branding. 
The number of digital payments made in Spain increased from 23 million to 27 million between 2015 and 2018. 
 37% of Spanish Internet users claim that they used some form of enhanced financial service in 2017. 

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FinTech Companies: Spain

 Verse, Goin, InbestMe, Bnc10, Pagantis, Fintonic, Holded, Witnet, Blueliv, and Quipu are 10 FinTech companies that have received funding in 2018 or 2019.
FINTECH COMPANIES: SPAIN  VERSE Overview: Verse is a payments technology platform that allows people to send money globally. Verse's mobile app lets users share instant payments without fees either privately or publicly.
Funding received: €7 million ($7.8 million) 
Funding Date: May 31, 2019 
 GOIN Overview: Goin is a savings management platform that adds spare change from a user's purchases to the latter's Goin account. Goin's mobile application allows users to save money automatically and invest.
Funding received: €625,000 ($693,000) in 2018; €1.6 million ($1.77 million) in 2019.
 INBESTME Overview: Founded in 2017, InbestMe is an automated investment portfolio manager based in Catalonia. InbestMe allows users to select their preferred plan of investment including InbestMe Go, InbestMe Strategic FI, InbestMe Strategic ETF, InbestMe Dynamic, InbestMe Advanced Value, InbestMe Advanced ISR, and InbestMe Plus. 
Funding received: €1.3 million ($1.44 million)
Funding Date: February 13, 2018 
 BNC10 Overview: Bnc10 is Barcelona's first neobank. Bnc10 provides a digital alternative to traditional banking. Bnc10 partnered with other FinTech companies (e.g., Unnax and Kantox) to provide management and control of accounts, transfers, online services, costs savings, and improvements in management operations time for Bnc10 users.
Funding received: €1.5 million ($1.66 million) 
Funding Date: May 15, 2018 
 PAGANTIS Overview: Pagantis enables users to make payment for goods and services in monthly installments with a fully automated, paperless process. Pagantis also provides an easy onboarding process for e-commerce merchants to offer consumer credit in conjunction with e-commerce purchases.
Funding received: €65 million ($72 million) in Series B funding.
Funding Date: March 11, 2019 
 FINTONIC Overview: Fintonic is a personal financial management tool in Madrid. The platform allows users to track their expenses from multiple financial accounts. Fintonic's app provides users with a monthly forecast of their expenses.
Funding received: $21.4 million in Series C funding.
Funding Date: April 11, 2019 
 HOLDED Overview: Holded is invoicing and accounting software for businesses, SMEs, and freelancers. Holded enables users to create estimates and invoices; track payments and income; manage various items (e.g., budgets, taxes, contacts, and stocks); and send personalized invoices directly to clients.
Funding received: Series A funding of €6 million ($6.65 million).
Funding Date: April 24, 2019 
 WITNET FOUNDATIONS Overview: Witnet is a decentralized oracle network for smart contracts, headquartered in Madrid. Witnet allows users to connect smart contracts to online data sources like stock prices, weather forecasts, and other blockchains.
Funding received: $1.1 million in March 2018; $3 million in August 2018
 BLUELIV Overview: Blueliv is a cyber threat intelligence provider, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Catalonia. Blueliv's products include threat compass, threat intelligence services, and modular intelligence for credits cards, mobile apps, and malware.
Funding received: Series A funding of €4 million ($4.4 million).
Funding Date: February 14, 2018 
 QUIPU Overview: Quipu is a cloud-based finance and invoice management platform, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Catalonia. Quipu allows users to control and categorize business incomes and expenses, create invoices, synchronize their Quipu account with their bank account, and manage company documents.
Funding received: €1 million ($1.1 million)
Funding Date: January 15, 2018
RESEARCH STRATEGYWe began our investigation with an inquiry into financial and business intelligence databases. We were able to acquire the majority of the requested information in this manner. We used a currency converter to convert the funding amounts from EUD to USD for Verse, Goin, InbestMe, Bnc10, Pagantis, Fintonic, Holded, Blueliv, and Quipu. 

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Digital Services Trends: Spain

Five trends in terms of digital services being offered to businesses in Spain are digital transformation, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain technology, mobile platforms, and cloud data.

Digital Services Trends in Spain#1: Digital Transformation Digital transformation efforts made by companies are primarily based on the adoption of innovative new technologies. Businesses are keen on leaving behind their traditional business format to better adapt to the digital era. Artificial intelligence is one of the main technologies that drive digitization. 
The process of utilizing digital technologies to create new processes or develop and modify existing systems, experiences, and culture to meet the continually changing market and business requirements is referred to as digital transformation. Essentially, digital transformation starts and ends with how a company thinks and engages with its customers. 
According to the Digital Means Business report, over 72% of organizations believe that customer experience is the most beneficial aspect of digital transformation. Companies that successfully transform will focus primarily on their customers' needs, utilize data to understand them, create innovative offerings, redesign business models, and then implement new technologies. 
Why it is trending: Businesses need to adapt to the digital world, and the way to do that is through advanced technologies offered by experts. In fact, according to Marta Fernandez, IBM's marketing director for Israel, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, it was found that over 82% of companies in these regions are looking forward to applying enabling technologies such as AI. However, over 60% of these companies face roadblocks in the process such as lack of qualified professionals, regulatory problems, and trust issues.
According to Global Growth Agents, IBM is at the forefront of digital transformation in several European countries, including Spain. 

#2: Internet of Things (IoT)Internet of Things is making a significant impact on the world's technology sector and "Spain is not far behind". Several companies have witnessed a positive impact from the implementation of IoT and it is predicted that this trend will continue to accelerate this year (2019).
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system that interrelates objects, people with UIDs (unique identifiers), machines, and computing devices among others, to then transfer data without any human interaction.  
An example of the use of IoT in everyday life would be a farm with many cows. These cows, instead of being marked with a hot iron, a chip is placed under their skin called biochip transponder that allows their owner to know where the cows are and this is thanks to the technology of data transfer. It is possible to use the IoT on any object, animal, person, place that has a traceable IP address. 
An IoT system contains a web of enabled smart units or devices that utilize embedded processors, communication hardware, and sensors to gather and send data from their environments. The networking, connectivity, and communication protocols that are used with such smart devices depend on the types of IoT applications. 
According to DimensionData, the best outcomes in business are obtained when IoT systems are used to monitor the entire business structure and incorporate its own data from third-party sources, thereby improving ROI. 
Why it is trending: Spain currently ranks fifth among other European countries in investing in IoT technology. With enormous potential in the field of big data, Spanish businesses and cities are increasingly adopting this technology. 
The Spanish multinational telecommunications company, Telefonica, has been listed as an industry leader of the Gartner Magic Square of machine-to-machine (M2M) services, positioning itself at the forefront of providing IoT services to businesses in the country. 

#3: Blockchain Technology Blockchain technology consists of blocks that store various forms of information from transactions and purchases to medical and agricultural records. When one block's information is complete and cannot be filled with new information, the block is closed and a new one is opened in such a way that a chain is created. 
Why it is trending: According to CoinStaker, several countries across the globe are implementing blockchain technology within their systems and this particular trend is found to be growing significantly in Spain. The country has been working towards regulating this space even with the lack of common European regulations to control cryptocurrencies.
Numerous companies in Spain have embraced the use of blockchain technology and are notably changing the way they work. Not only are the businesses in Spain utilizing this technology, but the government is too.  
Companies in Spain that are at the forefront of this trend are Tecnalia, IBM Spain, and Galparro. Tecnalia claims to be working on blockchain technology projects that are "able to change the world" whereas Galparro utilizes this technology to track each stage of its olive production in the country. 

#4: Mobile Platforms Spain is found to be the most digitized European country with the highest penetration of tablets and smartphones (66%). According to an article published by Welance, eight out of ten devices purchased by Spaniards are smartphones. 
With the arrival of the digital era, people are consuming content for the same number of hours online as they used to consume via TV. This statistic drove businesses to rethink the way to reach the public online. 
The trend of mobile commerce and the increasing need for businesses to have a presence online has been increasing steadily since 2018. This accompanied by the use of micro and macro influencers is one of the latest trends for business in Spain. There are many influencers agencies for business, by the way. 
Why it is trending: For business marketing strategies to be successful, campaigns must be delivered at the right time, with the right message, through the right channel, and to the right demographic. According to Global Growth Agents, a customer does not prefer to have different experiences on different channels for the same product/campaign. Therefore, companies/businesses have adapted to mobile devices with the right technologies/platforms. 
Since Spain is a leader in mobile penetration, the use of smartphones has encouraged a surge in generating exclusive content such as applications. The app sector in Spain is growing steadily despite the country's economic situation. Companies such as King.com and SocialPoint are witnessing rapid growth in the country. 
Another company making headway with this trend is Mango, an online shopping platform. 

#5 Cloud DataCloud computing has seen rapid growth across the world in terms of its implementations in file storage, corporate database server, office software, software applications, and financial software applications. According to Marta Fernandez, quantum computing has taken great strides over the past three years and has become a cloud-accessible technology. 
Why it is trending: The sector of IT develops technologies that push businesses' digitization efforts forward with through cloud computing. Companies have found the need to evolve into a business model that exploits and accesses data efficiently in the private and public cloud environments. 
Studies show that by utilizing cloud-based extensions to SAP platforms, companies will be able to see positive impacts such as improved customer experience and more time to value for clients, thereby improving their sales management capabilities.   
A company that's at the forefront of this trend in Spain is a Dimension Data company, Britehouse. 

Research Strategy:In order to determine the current trends in Spain related to digital services offered to companies, we began by looking for the opinion of experts in the field, including companies, creative directors, telecommunications companies, along with market reports published by these companies.
 We then filtered the information and considered the trends that coincided in more than two reports. During our search, we also found the B2C trends in Spain that helped in shortlisting the more significant digital services trends. We have, thus, presented five digital services trends that are gaining traction in Spain. 

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Google Pay Statistics: Spain

After thorough research, the research team could not find statistics showing how widely used Google Pay is in Spain, the number of Google Pay users, the number of Google Pay payments by volume, and the number of Google Pay payments by value (EUR) in the country.  We have, however, provided some useful insights below. 
USEFUL FINDINGSApple Pay is supported in Spain. 
Android Pay arrived in Spain on July 2017 with the help of BBVA.
 
In February 2018, Android Pay was renamed and became Google Pay(Google's digital wallet). 
Google Pay accepts BBVA cards in Spain. 
Spain is one of the fastest-growing mobile commerce markets in Europe. Apple Pay and Google Pay both launched in Spain for over a year.  
Apple Pay entered the financial market in Spain in 2016, before Google Pay entering in 2017.  
RESEARCH STRATEGY
We began our search by combing on globally reputed publications that could have data on the statistics showing how widely used Google Pay is in Spain, the number of Google Pay users, the number of Google Pay payments by volume, and the number of Google Pay payments by value (EUR) in the country. BBVA talked about leading platforms in mobile payments, the currency of the 21st century, but no corresponding data to address the requested information. Expatica talked about mobile payments, mobile banking security, features of mobile banking in Spain, among other issues without corresponding data to resolve the statistics showing the requested information.

Next, we made use of SimilarWeb, a data resource that pulls data across various platforms and presents statistical analysis hoping we could have great insight into the statistics showing the requested data. This research did not yield any fruitful analysis, as there was no data that was pulled regarding Google Pay statistics in Spain.

The research team also explored publications to see if the requested information is available. Macrumors had data regarding Google Pay competitors in Spain but data about the requested information. ThebMerchant Machine talked about global usage statistics of Google Pay, but no useful insights to address the requested data.

We had to narrow our research to Europe to see if we could find useful data to address the requested information. Statistical Data Warehouse that focuses on financial analysis in Europe was consulted. We found the value of total payment transactions involving non-MFIs - from Spain, but the information was not useful in addressing the requested information. We, therefore, concluded that data is not available in the public domain to address the issues of statistics showing how widely used Google Pay is in Spain, the number of Google Pay users, the number of Google Pay payments by volume, and the number of Google Pay payments by value (EUR) in the country.  

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Apple Pay Statistics: Spain

A deep search in the public domain shows that information on the usage of Apple Pay in Spain is non-existent and media coverage on the specified topic is scarce. The most relevant media mention is: Some banks, Banco Sabadell and Bankia banks have joined Apple’s list of banks supporting Apple Pay in Spain. Below are the helpful findings and a detailed methodology on the topic.
USEFUL FINDINGSApple Pay is supported in Spain. 
 Google Pay and Apple Pay are widely known in Spain among other alternatives of mobile payment.   
Google Pay, Apple Pay, and BBVA are mobile payment platforms in Spain.  
In Spain, most people are paying their bills using mobile payments.
The top three websites using Apple Pay domain are Apple, Douban, and Chase.
Spain is ranked among the leading countries where there is a high traffic on Apple Pay sites with 3,193 websites in Spain.
Apple Pay was launched in Spain on December 1, 2016.
Banco Sabadell and Bankia banks have joined Apple’s list of banks supporting Apple Pay in Spain. 

RESEARCH STRATEGYWe began our search by looking at the global statistical publications that could have data on the statistics showing how widely is Apple Pay being used in Spain, this is, the number of Apple Pay users, the number of Apple Pay payments by volume, the number of Apple Pay payments by value (EUR), and the number of merchants accepting Apple Pay in Spain. The 9to5Mac website talks about the expansion of Apple Pay in Spain, but it does not have any details about the usage of Apple Pay in the country. Also, BBVA website talks about the banking solutions in Spain and how mobile payment is becoming a more common shopping channel in the country. However, this website does not provide any statistics showing how widely is Apple Pay being used in Spain.

Next, we made use of Similar Web, a data resource that pulls data across various platforms and presents the statistical analysis, hoping we could find a great insight showing how widely is Apple Pay being used in Spain. However, the analysis only have the information on the countries that are experiencing the high usage of Apple Pay by web visits, but the website does not provide any relevant data on how widely is Apple Pay being used in Spain. Further, we explored publications such as Mac Gurus hoping to find Apple Pay usage statistics in Spain. However, Mac Gurus website only has the information about the date Apple Pay was launched in Spain, while the Adyen website talks about the Spanish payments landscape. All these sources do not have any data to address the statistics showing how widely Apple Pay is being used in Spain.

Finally, we tried expanding our research to Europe and see if we could find any useful data regarding statistics showing how widely Apple Pay is being used in Spain. We came across Apple regional listing of countries that support Apple Pay, but this information could not provide any relevant data to answer the research criteria. 

NOTE: From the above strategies, we have concluded that there is no information in the public domain to answer the research criteria. This could be because no research has been conducted to show how Apple Pay is being used in Spain.

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Digital Banking: Spain

 73% of people in Spain use digital banking. Additionally, 10% of Spaniards are clients of a digital-only bank. By the end of 2020, the digital start up finance sector is expected to double in size compared to the end of 2018.
DIGITAL BANKING IN SPAINCommon indicators of digital bankingThe current percentage of consumers using digital banking services in Spain is at 73% of the total population.
Santander's Openbank which is an example of a traditional bank going fully digital, with features such as its mobile app allowing users to temporarily disarm a lost credit card, and buying or selling stock at any time during the day, currently has 1.2 million customers in Spain using digital banking.
According to World Finance Magazine, BBVA is Spain’s best digital bank and the bank that has the best app. 
A study by Digital Group revealed the top ten most digitized banks in Spain, based on the percentage of services offered via digital channels as part of total services. The ranking is as follows: ING (95%), BBVA (55,1%), Sabadel (49,8%), Caixabank (47,8%), Santander (47,2%), Mercado (44,4%), Bankia (36,3%), Rurales (35,6%), and Ibercaja (30,4%).
MasterCard's study revealed that 7% of Europeans are clients of a digital-only bank, with Spain being one of the top 3 markets according to digital-only banking adoption. 10% of Spaniards are clients of a digital-only bank.
A BBVA study revealed that 18% of new customers to banking are choosing to join the bank via a digital channel.
The digital start up finance sector in Spain housed only 50 companies in 2015. In 2018, there were 330 digital finance companies operating in Spain, and another 200 insurtech companies.  
By the end of 2020, the digital start up finance sector is expected to double in size compared to the end of 2018.
Access and use of digital banking 80% of Spaniards claim they use a digital banking service once a month, while more than 60% use it every week and almost 40% claim to use them daily.
The three most sought-after benefits by Spanish clients are the availability of services across the globe, the flexibility, and the option of having control over their real-time spending patterns.
The average profile of the client of digital financial services in Spain is that of a working woman who is 39 years of age or less, has children, resides in a city with a population over 200,000 people, and a household income between 3,000 and 5,000 euros in the home.
 57% of Spaniards use only their bank's app to check in on their accounts, while the additional 15.5% mainly use the app, and only 10% say they only use standard web access.
A BBVA study revealed that 18% of new customers to banking are choosing to join the bank via a digital channel.

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Digital Banking By Industry: Spain

Some industries in Spain that have most embraced digital business banking services operate in the payment and remittance industry, the lending industry, financial management industry (enterprise), the crowdfunding industry, and the insurance industry. 
PAYMENT AND REMITTANCE INDUSTRY
According to World Finance, the Spanish banking sector is being disrupted by digital services offered by "online banks and Fintech companies."
One of the industries that have had the highest uptake of digital business banking services in Spain is the payment and remittance industry.
According to Fin Tech News, the payment and remittance industry represents about 21% of business organizations using Fintech services in Spain.
The Fintech revolution across the world is democratizing payment solutions, advancing digital banking services, and shaking "up the world of payments and investments."
LENDING INDUSTRY
One of the industries that have had the highest uptake of digital business banking services in Spain is the lending industry.
About 12% of businesses using Fintech services in Spain are from the lending industry. 
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY (ENTERPRISE)
The financial management industry (enterprise) is one of the sectors with the highest uptake of digital business banking services in Spain.
About 11% of businesses using Fintech services in Spain are from the financial management industry (enterprise financial management sector). 
CROWDFUNDING INDUSTRY
The crowdfunding industry is one of the sectors with the highest uptake of digital business banking services in Spain.
About 10% of businesses using Fintech services in Spain are from the crowdfunding industry. 
INSURANCE INDUSTRY
The insurance industry/sector is one of the industries with the highest uptake of digital business banking services in Spain.
About 8% of businesses using Fintech services in Spain are from the insurance industry.
RESEARCH STRATEGYThe research included publications of Fintech media reports such as FinTech News, and financial reports such as World Finance, etc. We researched industries that have had the highest uptake of digital business banking services in Spain. FinTech News revealed that the payment and remittance industry of Spain is one of the sectors with the highest uptake of digital business banking services. The financial service industry represents about 21% of business organizations using Fintech services in Spain. It also revealed statistics that identified sectors with the highest uptake of Fintech services across Spain. 

We researched the link between FinTechs with digital-only banking services and Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs). This process revealed that Fintechs are known to offer "digital-only" banking services. For some time, Fintechs have been advancing (leading) digital banking services, and shaking "up the world of payments and investments." Since Fintechs have been leading the innovative world of digital-only banking services, we assumed that the percentage of various industrial sectors in Spain with the highest patronage to FinTechs would represent the industries that have had the highest uptake of digital business banking services in Spain. This assumption is reasonable because of our definition of digital business banking services. Note that, digital business banking services are defined as banking services offered to businesses by digital-only banks/EMIs (they do not include traditional banks that may also offer some digital services).

We have assumed that there is little insight into companies that have had the highest uptake of services from Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) in Spain. This is because the battle of Fintech just ended, while the struggle of TechFin (which deal with EMIs) has only commenced.

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Challenger Digital Banks: Spain

The top five challenger digital banks that offer banking services to businesses in Spain are N26, Revolut, Monese, Bunq, and Curve.
1. N26N26 is one of the earlier fintech challenger banks that was founded in February 2013.
N26 is a German startup which has never opted for financing via crowdfunding. But, it has had some hefty investments that resulted in total investment amount of around half a billion dollars, the highest out of its competitors.
They have over 2.5 million customers and are active in 24 European markets with planned expansion into the US. They offer both premium and business accounts, plus their partnership with TransferWise allows for easy/competitive international transfers.
The N26 online business bank account uses artificial intelligence to automatically categorize the spending and get 0.1% cashback for all purchases when an individual pays using his/her N26 MasterCard and reinvest the profits straight back into their business.
The link to the website is here.
2. MONESEMonese was founded by Norris Koppel in 2013. Koppel, from Lithuania, had the common struggle of opening a UK bank account when first moving to England, this caused hassle in accepting salary payments and paying utility bills.
Monese’s customers get both UK current account and a European IBAN, which allows for flexibility with salary payments and transfers.
They currently have around 1 million customers, but their target market is different to that of other challenger banks, furthermore, in March 2019 they reported that two-thirds of new sign ups weren’t from the UK, but from mainland Europe.
In October 2018, it launched its Monese Business account in the UK, available in 11 languages, and started progressively releasing it throughout the Eurozone – and is now available in Spain too.
Their business account offers smart business where one gets a full overview of their payments with categorized Smart Transactions to maintain oversight on their cash flow.
The link to the website is here.
3. REVOLUTRevolut, the London-based challenger bank, was launched in July 2015 and has over 6 million users which is the most when compared to their competitors. As of April 2018, they’re valued more than £40 billion.
Revolut seems to be the challenger bank that has given the highest prioritization to the diversification of their offering like the most competitive currency exchange products (however fee-free withdrawals are limited to 200 a month, then a 2% fee), financial literacy advice, gamification styled cashback perks, both overseas medical and phone insurance, an open banking API that allows for B2B integration, ‘group vaults’ for joint savings and lastly, access to five cryptocurrencies on its closed crypto market.
Their global business current account offers easy international payments, with prepaid business cards where one can save on transfer fees when they make payments to businesses around the world and an open API that is an automated cross-border business payments to send payouts to clients or employees and monitor transactions, according to their business needs.
The link to the website is here.
4. BUNQBunq is a new digital bank from the Netherlands which launched in its home country in 2015, and announced its expansion into Spain and Italy in 2018.
Bunq is the first bank in the country to have ever implemented Mastercard Identity Check, the latest implementation of MasterCard Securecode, a secret code that protects against unauthorized use of their card and a method that is a requirement for certain webshops.
Bunq offers personal and business accounts and focuses on ease of use transaction accounts.
The advantages of a bunq Business account is registering through their phone. No branch visits, no queues, and no paperwork. Everything can be done online, straight from the Bunq app.
The link to the website is here.
5. CURVEIn 2015, Curve, the London-based “over-the-top banking platform,” was founded in the UK by Shachar Bialick is a serial entrepreneur who has built and led numerous companies across several verticals including healthcare, finance, e-commerce, mobile telecommunications, and HR.
This challenger bank lets an individual consolidate all their bank cards into a single Curve card and app to make it easier to manage their spending and access other benefits.
Curve has raised $21 million from a group of world-renowned entrepreneurs, advisors and investors including Santander InnoVentures, Investec, Oxford Capital and Breega Capital. Other Curve investors include Speedinvest, Seedcamp, Connect Ventures, Taavet Hinrikus (TransferWise CEO & co-founder) and Ed Wray (Betfair co-founder).
With Curve Business service, it provides automated expense reports, including receipts. Curve has no currency fees, so employees can save up to 5% when they travel abroad with 1% instant cashback on their business purchases at chosen retailers, it pays to spend.
The link to the website is here.
RESEARCH STRATEGYWe started the research by looking for precompiled data on top challenger digital banks offering banking services to businesses in Spain. We leveraged a compilation of industry reports, leading publications, and expert blogs. We used the estimated total number of users and amount of funding these digital banks have. In addition, the identified banks are the only banks that are digital-only and offering business services in Spain.

Spain-fintech, fintechfutures.com, finder.com, learnbonds.com, and penser.co.uk are among the sources used to come up with a list of challenger digital banks that offer business services in Spain. Through this search effort, we were able to gather a list of top five challenger digital banks focusing on digital banking and banks that are digital only. From the list, we then cross-referenced their service offerings for businesses in their respective websites. 
We did not identify 'the top banks' in terms of market penetration for percentage of all businesses in Spain these digital banks serve. 

The following strategies were implemented to find the requested information:

First, we searched press releases in their respective websites but they do not have a list nor a percentage of their business customers in Spain. Data related to their business market was presented in general like the total funding, number of employees, staffs, and founders of the digital banks among others. Data related specifically to each country is not disclosed in their website.

Next, we searched corporate online databases in finding business information about private and public companies like crunchbase, hoovers, zoominfo, and LinkedIn among others. However, most of the data found were their funding, investors, estimated revenue, competitors, team members, and support service. Hence, we could not apply this strategy for the analysis of each digital bank's market penetration.

Lastly, we searched for profile analysis detailing the number of business consumers these digital banks serve on survey or consumer reports. Our primary focus was to find precompiled information specifically to market penetration of these digital banks. Instead, we learned that most if not all the articles are related to account opening process
 and products, their services offered, security measures, and fees among others. Most of the articles also tackles the pros and cons of each digital banks. Information pertaining to the said subject is limited because data related to their business market is presented in general or data related specifically to each country has not been made public or organizations have not conducted any research, or they may not have made it public for internal reasons.

Part

of twelve

Part

English Usage: Spain

Spain has a moderate proficiency in English and was ranked 32nd in the EF English Proficiency Index. Only 0.42% of people in Spain speak English as a mother tongue, while 11.28% use it as a foreign language. Barcelona is the city with the highest level of proficiency and the best-ranked region is Navare. English is most commonly used in business transactions among business executives but tourism industry, on the other hand, doesn't have a good command of the language. News and media publications usually have a translation in English and there are also a number of advertisements that use English words.
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY LEVEL IN SPAIN According to the EF English Proficiency Index Spain has a moderate proficiency and was ranked 32nd among 88 countries in 2018.
The female population has slightly better language skills than men. Barcelona has the highest level of proficiency among cities and the best-ranked region in Spain is Navare.
 A recent study reveals that nearly 60% of people in Spain don't speak English and the rest of the population doesn't speak it very well.
Younger generation generally knows how to speak at least something in English, while older people don't.
"The Cambridge University Press found that 70% of Spaniards found English proficiency to be more important than having a university degree."
ENGLISH AS A MOTHER TONGUE OR SECOND LANGUAGEEnglish is the second most common foreign language in Spain with 11.28% of the population speaking the language.
Only 0.42% of people speak English as a mother tongue in Spain.
 Teachers in primary schools must have a C1 level of English and can also receive additional training.
There are more than 350 primary schools and around 180 private schools in Madrid that provide education in both Spanish and English.
Over 30,000 people study English with the British Council in Spain, while 45,000 people take some internationally recognized exams that they offer.
Around 86% of Spanish students learn English as a foreign language.
USE OF ENGLISH IN BUSINESS, ADVERTISING AND MEDIA The tourism industry in Spain surprisingly doesn't speak English very well.
English is a common business language used for business transactions and international business negotiations. Spanish executives don't need an interpreter and they speak English as well as some other languages including German and French.
 Government of Spain, some popular news and magazines such as El Pais and the Local and many other media publications have a translation in English.
According to the Ads of the World there are a number of ads in Spain that are in the English language. Green Cola marketing campaign "The Green Side of Cola" is an example of advertising in Spain that uses English language.

Sources

From Part 01

Structural business statistics & global business activities Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) Data See also

ec.europa.eu

Publication Year: 2019

What is an SME? - Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs - European Commission

ec.europa.eu

Publication Year: 2017

From Part 02

Spain is also coworking: a list with some of the best coworking spaces

startupxplore.com

From Aticco to WeWork: Here are all the players in Spain’s coworking war

onlinemarketplaces.com

Publication Year: 2019

Regus ES | Offices, Co-working and Virtual Offices

regus.es

Publication Year: 2019

Coworking Office Space In Spain | WeWork

wework.com

Publication Year: 2019

Coworking Space Barcelona - Shared Office Barcelona - OneCoWork

onecowork.com

Publication Year: 2019

Spaces - Spain

spacesworks.com

Publication Year: 2019

Impact Hub Network - Building Communities for Impact

impacthub.net

Publication Year: 2019

From Part 03

Starting a Business in Spain - Subnational Doing Business - World Bank Group

doingbusiness.org

Publication Year: 2019

Quotes

"This topic identifies the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome to incorporate and register a new firm. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI)."

Doing Business 2019 - Spain

doingbusiness.org

Publication Year: 2019

Top 10 challenges of doing business in Spain

tmf-group.com

Publication Year: 2018

Quotes

"But Spain is shrouded in bureaucracy and red tape which can stifle private sector investment and make the day-to-day running of a business very complicated. "
"Spain is home to a diverse culture, and there is certainly no one-size-fits-all approach to doing business in different locations. Spain’s cultural diversity has created a strong sense of individualism which is seen through strong bonds and a sense of identity within the various cultural groups."
"Paying taxes can be a time-exhaustive procedure, taking 167 hours a year to deal with eight separate payments. Profit tax is low, but labour tax and contributions are much higher than the OECD average, which means the total tax rate as a percentage of profit is still quite steep."
"Enforcing contracts takes 510 days and 40 procedures. The enforcement of judgement takes a considerable amount of time and the attorney cost of the claim can be quite steep."

Spain company registration fees and timelines

healyconsultants.com

Publication Year: 2019

6 Steps to Set Up a Company in Spain - Everything you Need to Know as an Expat

balcellsgroup.com

Publication Year: 2019

Starting a business in Spain - Expat Guide to Spain | Expatica

expatica.com

Publication Year: 2019

Quotes

"Several types of limited company structure exist in Spain. The most common form, however, is the sociedad limitada or S.L. Incorporation is important in protecting the owner from personal liability in the event of bankruptcy, but this kind of structure does involve a number of additional tax, accounting, and mercantile obligations."
"Before setting up a business in Spain, all resident and non-resident foreigners with financial affairs in Spain must have a foreigner’s tax identification number (NIE). "
"The NIE is essential for any fiscal transactions in Spain, such as incorporating a company. If you are a Spanish national, you will have a NIF rather than a NIE number."
"After you have obtained a tax code and the certificate of no-name coincidence for a limited business, you will need to open a business account with a Spanish bank and make a deposit of €3,000. This is the minimum share capital allowed when setting up a limited company."