Banco Santander, the Spanish bank, announced on Thursday (April 12) the launch of a new international payments service that is based on Ripple’s blockchain technology.
In a press release, the bank said the service is now available to retail customers residing in Spain, the U.K., Brazil and Poland and will come to more countries in the next few months. Dubbed Santander One Pay FX, the company said thanks to Ripple’s XCurrent blockchain technology, customers will be able to complete international transfers on the same day — and in some cases by the next day. The service will also let consumers know the exact amount that will be received in the currency it is going to before the transfer happens.
Banco Santander said it plans to add more features to the payment service in the coming months, such as offering instant international payments in several markets — a plan that’s expected to happen before the summer. That said, Banco Santander makes money transfers occur much faster than other international payment services. It’s also the first bank to launch a blockchain-based international payments service for retail customers in multiple countries at the same time.
“One Pay FX uses blockchain-based technology to provide a fast, simple and secure way to transfer money internationally — offering value, transparency and the trust and service customers expect from a bank like Santander,” said Ana Botín, executive chairman of Banco Santander. “From today, customers in the U.K. can use One Pay to transfer money across Europe and to the U.S. In Spain, customers can transfer to U.K. and U.S., while customers in Brazil and Poland can transfer to the U.K. Blockchain technology offers tremendous opportunities to improve the services we offer our customers, and the launch of Santander One Pay FX is the first of many potential applications.”
Banco Santander said that at launch, each country will provide customers with different payment options. For example, in Spain, customers will be able to send dollars to the U.S. and pounds to the U.K., while customers in the U.K. can send euros to 21 countries and dollars to U.S. From Brazil and Poland, pounds can be sent to the U.K.