has invested $40 million in its digital transformation strategy in the last threeyears to meet new challenges in the global banking system, El Heraldo reported, citing executives at the firm.

The strategyis in line with the digital reality of the country, given that the number of electronicbanking users in Colombia rose 28.7% between 2013 and 2015, reaching 1.9 millionclients, Juana Téllez, BBVA Colombia's chief economist, reportedly said.

Duringa recent presentation of a report by BBVA Research on internet usage and digitalbanking in Colombia, Téllez said that growth in digital banking has exceeded growthin users of social media in recent years.

Moreover,according to the report published July 5, BBVA Research estimates that the numberof digital banking customers in Colombia will jump to 15.6 million in 2025, up from1.9 million in 2015, representing 13.5% of the population.