Placing innovation at the heart of our actions

The innovation strategy adopted by Groupe BPCE makes the human dimension a key facet of its digital transformation process. Our aim is to facilitate the customer and employee experience through innovation developed within the heart of our organization, drawing on the power of artificial intelligence and on the skills of our partners in order to shape the contours of the future.

Harnessing innovation to serve people’s needs and to enhance performance

Greater simplicity

We are convinced that innovation must simplify the lives of our customers and employees. Our expertise in data and digital transformation guarantees the ethical and secure use of data harnessed for our employees’ benefit. It enables us to enrich customer relations and improve service quality across all our banking and insurance business lines.

More human

Groupe BPCE puts people at the heart of our approach by simplifying relationship models by drawing on the very best of the human and digital dimensions. Our customers are free to choose their mode of interaction, either 100% digital or physical. Our advisors, for their part, are empowered and equipped to act effectively, ensuring that our customers enjoy peace of mind through a range of transparent, simple, and innovative offers.

  • 4.7/5
  • First
  • Front-ranking player
Yves Tyrode Chief Digital & Payments Officer

Payments strategy: continuous innovation

A wide range of solutions

We aim to simplify physical and digital payment transactions for all our cardholder and merchant customers. Our offer covers a wide range of solutions, including digital wallets, digitalized cards, split payment solutions at the point of sale or online, and real-time payments. To achieve this, we are developing a robust industrial base, offering a comprehensive range of integrated payment and financing services, physical solutions with innovative terminals, as well as solutions dedicated to e-commerce. What’s more, we’re also diversifying our cash flow management solutions, including credit transfers and additional services such as e-billing and accounting. Finally, to guarantee our competitiveness and protect our customers, we are investing in cutting-edge technologies and artificial intelligence solutions.

Sovereign partnerships

Groupe BPCE has always been a promoter of sovereignty initiatives in payments and inter-banking services in France and Europe. At the European level, Groupe BPCE is notably involved in the development of the Wero instant payment solution in its capacity as a founding member of the European Payments Initiative (EPI). At a more local level, we are a principal member of the CB Bank Card Association (GIE CB) with a priority focus on supporting the competitiveness of this body and helping the French to digitalize their payment habits.

Estreem

A strategic partnership in payments: BNP Paribas and BPCE created Estreem, the new French leader and major European player in payment processing.

Open banking: a revolution for the future of financial services

We believe that innovation requires openness and cooperation. By committing to an open banking approach, we are exploring new markets and offering value-added services in collaboration with non-banking partners. Using secure APIs, we are opening up our services to enable our partners to offer these solutions to their customers, transforming the customer experience and modernizing financial services.

For Groupe BPCE, this open innovation strategy provides a unique opportunity to enhance the customer experience and streamline business interactions. By developing concrete use cases such as credit management and payments, we are creating real added value for consumers and businesses while simultaneously respecting the rules of transparency and data security. For example, our work on open banking aims to provide the Group with an integrated solution (Xpollens) and to improve Oney’s offering by rolling out access to third-party data (DSP2) across all acquisition paths.

Groupe BPCE has invested heavily in the digital and payments ecosystem, integrating FinTechs such as Payplug and forging partnerships with global giants or up-and-coming FinTechs such as Bridge. What is more, our involvement in sovereign initiatives demonstrates our commitment to supporting an open ecosystem and strengthening the competitiveness of payment solutions in France and Europe.

Artificial intelligence at the heart of our transformation

Within the framework of its new strategic project VISION 2030, Groupe BPCE has made artificial intelligence (AI) a central facet of its ambitions. Fully aware that any revolution needs time to settle in and be deployed, the Group has defined a clear and ambitious strategy around AI, based on three core convictions: first, we firmly believe that the appropriation of AI by our employees and customers is crucial to guarantee its success; second, we are committed to creating sustainable value through quality of use while respecting ethical principles; and finally, we have adopted a selective approach, concentrating our efforts on business areas with high return-on-investment potential.

  • VISION 2030
  • More than 30,000 people
  • Objective: 50%

At the end of 2024, already 1 out of 4 employees was a user of Groupe BPCE’s internal generative AI portal. Our goal for 2026 is to roll out generative AI tools for our 100,000 employees, with a targeted adoption rate of 50% supported by an appropriate training policy.

We are also investing in transformative AI to optimize our key activities: enriching the tools used by our customer advisors, simplifying the digital experience of our 35 million customers, modernizing our call centers, and improving the efficiency of IT and anti-fraud business lines.  In this way, our ambitious and pragmatic approach to AI aims to make this new technology a powerful lever for serving our customers and employees, without compromising on our core values.

Controlling our impact

Environmental commitment

Aware of the environmental impact of our digital transformation, we set up as long ago as 2020 a department specifically dedicated to digital responsibility, bringing together experts in IT and the environment. Our aim in this area is to minimize the footprint of our digital activities by adopting several innovative levers of action: extending the lifespan of our equipment, optimizing our hardware assets, improving the energy efficiency of our data centers and developing resource-saving applications. And to guide our decisions, our experts have set up tools to measure the environmental impact of our hardware assets, our stored data, and our application solutions.

Finally, we are working to maximize our positive impact, one of the major illustrations of which is the implementation of the program organized last year to reinforce digital accessibility. We are also raising our employees’ awareness of the importance of eco-friendly digital practices for the creation of an environmentally-friendly corporate culture.

Responsible data management

Beyond the environment, our responsible digital strategy also includes ethical and secure data management. We are committed to protecting our customers’ information and ensuring its confidentiality through rigorous data security practices and regulatory compliance. By adopting a transparent and responsible approach, we strengthen the trust placed in us by our customers and partners while simultaneously contributing to a sustainable digital ecosystem that respects individual rights.

Innovation news
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BNP Paribas and BPCE create Estreem, new French leader and major European actor in payment processing

13/02/2025
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