Over the past year, Banco Português de Fomento has undergone a transformation that goes beyond technology. We changed systems, processes, infrastructures and working models. But above all, we changed the way we work together. The true digital transformation of BPF did not begin in the Data Center or in innovation labs — it began with our People.
Today, we are a more agile, more secure, more collaborative Bank, better prepared to serve Portuguese Companies. But none of this happened by chance: it was the result of professionals who believed, learned, took risks and chose to be part of this change.
What drove us forward
The journey we have taken is rooted in a simple conviction: human talent is the most powerful technology of all.
While modernising infrastructures, replacing legacy systems and introducing new platforms — from low code to automation, from Agile to AI — the Bank’s teams demonstrated the adaptability, curiosity and resilience that only great organisations possess.
Each sprint, each MVP delivered, each simplified process and each completed migration was also a cultural step forward: reinforcing a mindset of innovation, continuous improvement and focus on real impact for Companies and entrepreneurs.
Results that speak for themselves
BPF’s digital transformation delivered tangible progress — greater speed, clearer processes, closer customer relationships and stronger security.
But it also brought something less visible and equally decisive: a new way of working.
Multidisciplinary teams began co-creating solutions in an integrated way, while processes that were once manual gained automation and scale, as seen in the new workflow for contracting financing with mutual guarantees. At the same time, technological resilience increased, enabling operations with greater stability and confidence. Agile culture also began spreading across the BPF Group’s Directorates, promoting shorter and more transparent delivery cycles. Cybersecurity became part of our daily routine and, across the organisation, the customer experience — both internal and external — took on a central role, guiding solution design.
The most important point? None of this diminished the role of People. On the contrary: it amplified it. It made our teams more autonomous, more skilled and more engaged in building the Bank’s future.
The Future We Are Building
Digital transformation has no end — it has direction. And ours is clear: we are building a Digital Bank for Companies, fast, simple and data-driven, where the new Fomento Now will become a reality in the first quarter of 2026. A Bank that uses artificial intelligence and analytics to improve decision-making and anticipate the needs of our Companies, and where automation frees up human time for what truly matters. A Bank in which technology is a differentiating factor, but where People remain the lasting competitive advantage — making it more collaborative, better prepared to innovate and closer to Portuguese Companies.
The coming months will bring new product journeys, new models and new challenges. But nothing will be more decisive than how we continue to learn, work together and grow as an organisation.
People: our strongest capital
At every stage of this journey — from strategy to execution, from idea to MVP, from problem to solution — the element that truly sets BPF apart has always been present: our People.
Technology changes quickly. Culture takes longer to transform. But when culture transforms, everything else accelerates.
That is why this editorial is not about systems, platforms or infrastructures.
It is about the human commitment that made all of this possible.
It is about every person who chose to be part of this journey.
It is about the future that, together, we are building.
