According to the new 2025 Study on Cash Usage Habits, 57% of citizens continue to use cash as a common means of payment in stores, although its use has decreased compared to 2024. This decline is even more evident in payments between individuals: cash remains the majority, but its share has dropped from 63% to 57%, while Bizum's share has grown from 33% to 37%, consolidating its expansion as a fast and simple method for daily transfers.
This growth in mobile payments comes alongside the publication in the BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette) of Royal Decree 253/2025, which introduces significant changes to the information obligation for banks and payment entities. This obligation also extends to payment entities, foreign banks operating in Spain, and companies operating under the freedom to provide services regime.
The Royal Decree also incorporates Article 38 ter, which obligates financial institutions to submit an annual informative declaration on all transactions made with any type of physical or virtual cards. The regulation, which 'will enter into force on January 1, 2026, and will be applicable for the first time in relation to the informative declarations for 2026 that must be presented from that date,' governs charges associated with mobile phone numbers, a category that includes transactions made through Bizum when used for economic activities.
The new Article 38 bis of the General Tax Management and Inspection Regulation establishes that banks must submit a monthly informative declaration on charges made through cards or payments linked to mobile phones by entrepreneurs and professionals. This means that businesses that use Bizum as a payment method will fall under this information framework, just like those who use POS terminals or traditional cards.
These declarations must include the complete identification of the business, the commerce number, the terminals used, the monthly billed amount differentiated by payment type, and the accounts where the income is received.
Exempt are cards whose annual volume does not exceed 25,000 euros. Through this, the Tax Agency seeks to strengthen control over electronic payments in the professional sphere, in a context where Bizum has become a widely used method.
It is important to note that the regulation does not affect individual users who use Bizum for personal transfers, who will continue to use it normally. The change will be significant for businesses, the self-employed, and professionals who use this method as a frequent system for receiving payments.
