The History of SIBS: From the ATM Revolution to the Digital Payments

This article chronicles SIBS (Portugal’s interbank network) as a deterministic case study in informational infrastructure. It traces the evolution from the revolutionary Multibanco ATM system (1985)—a pioneering, unified network enabling cash withdrawals, bill payments, and mobile top-ups via a single card—to today’s digital payment ecosystem. The piece frames SIBS not merely as a financial utility but as a social operating system: a robust, scalable architecture that reduced transactional friction, enhanced financial inclusion, and standardized data flows across the national economy. Aligned with the author’s “metabolism of reality” thesis, SIBS exemplifies how coherent, individual-driven engineering (rather than top-down bureaucracy) creates enduring societal value—transforming fragmented banking silos into a seamless, trust-based informational substrate that powers modern Portuguese life.

In 1976 I had the privilege of knowning the mind behind the scene, untraceable in history.

· 1983: The Birth of an Idea. A group of Portuguese banks realized the need to unite to create a shared network of automated teller machines (ATMs), following a model that was already successful in other European countries.

· 1985: Foundation of SIBS. The Sociedade Interbancária de Serviços (SIBS) was officially incorporated. Its goal was clear: to manage and operate a multilateral network of automatic teller machines.

· 1985: The First Multibanco Terminal. It was installed in the Alegro Shopping Center (then known as “Alvaláxia”), in Lisbon. This moment marked the beginning of a revolution.

The 1990s: Service Expansion and “Bill Payment”

· Network Expansion: The Multibanco network expanded rapidly throughout the country,.

· Continuous Innovation: SIBS did not limit itself to cash withdrawals. It introduced functionalities that transformed the terminal into a multifunctional interaction point:
· Balance and Transaction Inquiries.
· Transfers Between Accounts.
· The “Bill Payment”: This was a crucial innovation.

The 2000s: The Era of Card Payments (MB NET and POS)

· Focus on E-Commerce and Security: With the rise of the internet, SIBS launched MB NET. This service allowed the generation of unique virtual cards or cards with pre-defined value limits for online purchases, drastically increasing the security of digital payments in Portugal.

· Payments in the Physical World: The network of payment terminals (POS) in points of sale (merchants) was also unified and expanded under SIBS management. This meant that a merchant could have a single POS terminal to accept cards from all banks in the network.


The 2010s to the Present: The Digital and Mobile Revolution

· 2014: MB WAY. Responding to the widespread adoption of smartphones, SIBS launched its most disruptive application. MB WAY integrated several functionalities:
· Mobile payments (via QR Code or NFC).
· Instant Transfers using just a mobile phone number.
· Splitting bills (”split bill”) among friends.
· Cardless cash withdrawals at Multibanco ATMs.
· Consolidation as a Technological Hub: SIBS ceased to be just a network manager to become a center of technological competence, developing robust platforms that support the nation’s critical payments infrastructure.
· Internationalization: SIBS’s know-how and technology began to be exported to other markets, namely through partnerships in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Summary and Current Status (in 2025)

Today, SIBS is responsible for:

· Multibanco Network: The vast network of ATMs.
· Acquiring Network: The POS terminals at merchants.
· MB WAY: The leading mobile payment application in Portugal.
· MB NET: The reference solution for secure online payments.
· Instant Payments System: The infrastructure that allows transfers between banks in seconds.