Innovation at Santander

Santander is nominated in the Transformative Innovator of the Year category at the Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards 2024. We asked the bank to present its strategy and actions in terms of innovation.


Why do you consider your company a Global Transformative Innovator?

In its 167 years of history, Santander has shown that it knows how to do two things well: manage its assets wisely and be innovative in products and services that have been leaders in the market (since letters of credit 100 years ago, the "Super Libreta" (huge commercial success in Spain in the 90s), or more recently integrating AI into customer insights or having our own subscription economy platform. But what makes Santander unique is its ability to innovate from the business and with massive impact. best digital channels in the world, we have created our own biometric identification system (Santander Key) for sales and processes (including branches) that has massively reduced fraud and improved funnels, we have AI in processes, AI in insights with clients, Green Finance, the best platform of SME banking in the world, and so on... Few institutions in the world can do these projects at the same time, and deliver them for mass adoption.

How is a culture of innovation achieved across your company?

The Santander's path for business evolution: in our mindset, the innovation that has the most impact in the long term, because it is embedded in the business model itself, is the one that is born and developed from the first lines of the business lines. These innovations are closely linked to the needs of different businesses and ensure that their deployments have a greater degree of success. For those more fundamental changes, those changes that are greater than a business line, are driven by transversal departments: Innovation, Transformation, Business Development, whose report is usually above the business lines, thus ensuring that all involved keep their high standard motivation in the deployment phase to clients.

What are the major goals and results obtained from your ongoing innovation strategy?

To summarize all achieves in 150 words is a very difficult task. But let’s do a deep down in how we measure the success of our all brand new biometric and proprietary signature: Santander Key. Santander Key will be the unique method of identification and signature for all process and sales in the bank: digitally and physically. Some figures: Number of customers. 5M in Spain; Number of integrated operatives: 486; Santander Key Success rate vs traditional methods success rate: 95,8% con SK vs 82% with traditional methods (passwords/ crypto apps); NPS: Improvement in all the channels. Santander Key average NPS is +90%; Rate of sales success with SK vs traditional methods. Santander Key boosts the success rates of operations by reducing the operations drop rates, Sales. SK allows direct financing to all the signed pays directly, during the signing process.

How does your company manage the overall innovation process?

In Santander we implemented an innovation Culture: A culture that encourages risk-taking, values creativity, and embraces continuous learning creates an innovation-friendly environment. This includes promoting open communication, celebrating diverse perspectives, and recognizing the importance of experimentation. The innovation management process is not just a linear series of steps but a cyclical and adaptive journey, creating a culture of learning and adaptation. This iterative approach helps organizations to stay agile, respond to market changes, and consistently drive meaningful innovation. Where the innovations are born, it is needed a fostering from the different business lines, and here comes the transversal departments such as Innovation, Transformation, or Business Development.

Usually, the idea generation and screening come from the business lines. Once you have identified the promising ideas, you can move into the concept development phase. Here, ideas are translated into concrete concepts or prototypes. These concepts are then tested in real-world scenarios or through simulations to gather feedback and assess their practicality. Testing allows for refinement and improvement, and it’s managed by the transversal departments. Finally, the implementation phase involves turning the refined concept into a tangible product, service, or process. This stage requires coordinated effort, resource allocation, and effective project management to make sure a smooth transition from concept to reality. Implementation may occur within the organization or involve releasing the innovation to the broader market. This usually should be leaded by Santander Digital Services (our colleagues from Tech), teamworking with the business line.