Celebrating groundbreaking initiatives in the banking industry, we open this year’s monthly Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards with a spotlight on May’s award winner: Santander Spain’s user experience in SME and wholesale banking services.
Santander has prioritized becoming the primary bank for SMEs in Spain, boasting a 25% market share and supporting over 416,000 SMEs, aiming to establish enduring relationships. The bank's innovation strategy aims at achieving best-in-class status in wholesale and SME services, building upon its existing digital capabilities.
The 2025 Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards submission guide
The key pillars of Santander’s innovation are:
• Hyper-personalization: Offerings are tailored in real-time to match the specific needs of both the business and its authorized representatives. This personalized approach spans across all digital channels, enhancing the user experience.
• Simplicity: The bank has implemented a complex retargeting system to streamline onboarding and contracting processes across various channels. Digital specialist teams proactively manage these processes to ensure seamless customer experiences.
• Value-added data: Customers can personalize shortcuts based on their preferences, leveraging a data-driven approach. Real-time offers and cross-selling tools are contextualized to cater to different user journeys, enhancing engagement and satisfaction.
• Human digital support: Santander provides remote support through its contact center and specialist teams, integrating digital solutions with physical branch networks. The bank prioritizes resolving issues through digital channels whenever possible, complementing its human touchpoints.
Over the past months, the bank has launched numerous subsites and digital tools tailored specifically for SMEs, such as multiproduct business subsites, omnichannel signature capabilities, factoring and financing subsites, and digital POS management. These innovations aim to digitize and streamline various aspects of SME banking, including account management, confirming processes, and international transfers.
Elevating SME banking beyond boundaries: Empowering SMEs with value-added services and personalization
Santander's approach to digital transformation is distinguished by its integration of physical and digital channels, catering to the diverse needs of its customer base. The bank's commitment to simplifying everyday tasks and prioritizing customer needs over specific channels has garnered positive feedback, reflected in high Net Promoter Scores and customer satisfaction ratings.
With over 300 dedicated personnel spanning business, technology and operations units, Santander has been able to execute its digital transformation strategy effectively. The bank's focus on continuous improvement and innovation underscores its commitment to providing the best banking experience for SMEs in Spain, both digitally and through traditional channels.
SME and wholesale services hold immense potential for innovation, and we particularly appreciate the various initiatives implemented by Santander to maintain and strengthen its leadership in this segment. We look forward to seeing more such innovations in this year’s awards!
Santander’s innovation will be automatically selected as a top-9 nominee for the Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards 2024. Submit your innovations on the Banking Innovation portal until 5 June to be considered for the June Innovation of the Month. Participation is free of charge.
