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Growing from a modest Spanish bank founded in 1857, to a multibillion dollar international institution with nearly 200,000 employees worldwide is proof positive that Santander knows a thing or two about innovation.
What is less obvious is how they implemented such an unconventional yet effective approach to innovation in an industry that thrives on conventionalism.
Santander’s success story is one of intelligent acquisitions and constructive partnerships coupled with an unmatched eye for improvement opportunities.
In 2014, the bank doubled down on its commitment to change when it established a $100 million innovation fund, InnoVentures, meant to drive growth and facilitate disruption in every facet of the financial industry.
Santander consistently sets the bar high for responsible financial innovation that puts their more than 107 million customers first.
Leading the Blockchain Revolution
Ever since blockchain technology burst onto the scene, experts and pundits have pointed toward it as a possible panacea to almost every pain point encountered by banks of all sizes.
As more and more gets written about blockchain, people have been waiting with bated breath for compelling real-world applications of the technology’s potential impact.
Santander decided to be that real-world application.
In partnership with the FinTech startup Ripple, Santander launched an international payment transfer platform called One Pay FX.
Using Ripple’s blockchain-based technology, One Pay FX offers secure payment assistance in the UK, Spain, Brazil and Poland, and there are rumors that it will expand to the US, Germany, South Korea, Japan and more.
Santander’s platform has been getting rave reviews from people inside and outside of the financial industry, and it recently won the 2018 Financial Innovation award for Best Payments Initiative.
One Pay FX represents the culmination of InnoVenture’s collaboration with Ripple, dating back to 2015.
This long-term investment shows how many moves ahead Santander is thinking with their open innovation strategy — an approach that is clearly paying off.
Reinventing Innovation
The first one to the finish line leads — everyone else follows. That is why Santander built an innovation-minded technology hub in London.
In a statement released shortly after the announcement of their new UK hub, CEO of Santander UK, Nathan Bostock, said:
“We want a workplace which truly reflects our culture and our vision for the future, which is based on innovation and harnessing new technology to make banking simpler and more personal for our customers.”
Along with their forays into innovative banking solutions, Santander seeks out socially responsible innovation by collaborating with charities and non-profits to understand what communities truly need.
In November of 2018, Santander presented the Santander University Entrepreneurship Award to Tom Fudge, a researcher from Brunel University who created a water treatment cell that could positively impact water-deprived communities around the world.
With this innovative approach, Santander is using its considerable weight to try to understand the human side of the banking industry.
Re-Building Digital Banking from the Ground Up
Some legacy banks fail to understand the power of changing demographics.
In 2017, however, Santander met the changing demands of a shifting market with Spain’s first fully digital bank: Openbank.
Openbank offers more than the same traditional banking services with a digital coat of paint. Instead, it provides a smart and connected alternative to traditional banking with an infrastructure based on AI-driven data analysis and risk assessment.
With Openbank’s tech-minded approach to banking, Santander hopes to create a highly personalized and satisfying banking experience for every customer.
Continuing their Commitment
Banco Santander is not a company that rests on its laurels. The executives at the highest levels of management understand that innovation and constant evolution is part of running a successful business.
With its constant push for innovation through InnoVentures and the rest of their UK-based innovation branch, Santander has embraced re-invention in a way that sets them apart from other financial institutions.
