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Open Banking in Spain and Portugal

Spain and Portugal are key markets on the Iberian Peninsula, characterised by strong growth, EU funding, and increasing digitalisation.

Qwist supports this with:

  • Consent management & data access
  • Regulatory & compliance support
  • Account transfers & verification
  • Risk and security management
Read Global Open Banking Insights now

Country-specific features and challenges

Market profiles and development potential

Spain and Portugal offer a growth-oriented market environment for Open Banking, with clear regulatory frameworks in line with the PSD2 directive.

In Spain, a high density of banks, advanced digital infrastructures, and the growing acceptance of digital financial services are driving the adoption of innovative Open Banking solutions. However, a key challenge lies in harmonising technical standards across different market participants.

Portugal stands out with its agile FinTech landscape, government-led digitalisation initiatives, and consumers’ openness towards new, technology-driven financial products. At the same time, the comparatively smaller market size presents a hurdle for the rapid scaling of new offerings.

In both countries, these dynamics create attractive opportunities for financial institutions and technology providers that aim to develop data-driven services and sustainably enhance the customer experience in banking.

 

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About Qwist

We are a leading technology and solution provider for Open Finance

Learn more about Qwist

3.000

connected financial institutions

11

representations in European countries

#1

Open Banking provider in the DACH region

BaFin

Certified

Qwist products

for Spain and Portugal

dgtal SwitchKit Suite

  • Secure, risk-free transfer of accounts
  • Digital alternative to manual, error-prone processes
  • Makes account switching easier for customers
  • Simplifies onboarding for banks
Discover Use Case: Account & Portfolio SwitchKit

ndgit Open Banking Suite

  • Provides solutions for Open Finance, API consent management, and security
  • Developed for banks, financial institutions and insurance companies
Discover solutions for banks
Discover solutions for insurance companies

nrich Financial Data Suite

  • Utilises both raw and categorised financial data for verification, risk assessment, and data enrichment
  • Supports commercial use cases such as upselling
  • Suitable for merchants, PropTechs, insurers, and credit brokers
Discover Use Case: Risk Based Decisioning
Discover solution for retail

Outlook: Open Finance in Spain and Portugal

Problems and perspectives

How well is Spain prepared for Open Finance?

Spain is considered one of the more advanced markets in Southern Europe when it comes to the implementation and use of Open Finance concepts.

Strengths:

Spain has a dense banking landscape, well-developed digital infrastructures, and high smartphone penetration. The implementation of PSD2 is well advanced, and many institutions have already established API standards.

Weaknesses:

Technical interoperability between providers is not yet fully ensured. In addition, consumers show a certain reluctance to share sensitive financial data.

Opportunities:

With growing acceptance of digital financial solutions and an active FinTech scene, Spain has the potential to take a leading role in the European Open Finance market, particularly through data-driven value-added services.

Laptop with statistics on the screen. Two hands typing on the keyboard and editing the statistics.
A glass with coins inside. In the middle grows a plant symbolising the opportunities offered by open banking.
A hand holds a purse with two debit/credit cards in it.

How well is Portugal prepared for Open Finance?

Portugal is developing into a dynamic hub for Open Finance, driven by government-led digitalisation initiatives and an innovation-oriented financial sector.

Strengths:

An agile FinTech scene, modern payment infrastructures, and consumers’ openness to digital financial services create favourable conditions.

Weaknesses:

The smaller market size limits scalability, and uniform technical standards for seamless implementation are still lacking.

Opportunities:

Through targeted cooperation between banks and FinTechs, as well as the use of EU funding programmes, Portugal can significantly strengthen its position in the Open Finance sector.

Laptop with statistics on the screen. Two hands typing on the keyboard and editing the statistics.
A glass with coins inside. In the middle grows a plant symbolising the opportunities offered by open banking.
A hand holds a purse with two debit/credit cards in it.

Open Banking worldwide 2025 – global insights

We have analysed the global state of Open Banking development and summarised the findings, with the support of numerous experts, in a report of over 50 pages.

Discover more about:

  • The state of Open Banking development across all continents and leading countries
  • A maturity index for all analysed countries
  • Regional challenges, opportunities and the most common use cases
  • The global integration of banking ecosystems since 2019