International Payments (Blockchain) Qorus Banking Innovation Awards 2016 - Winner

Santander International Payments App Concept and objectives To provide customers easier, quicker and more transparent ways to move money abroad, Santander became the first UK bank to use blockchain, enabling customers to make faster and cheaper international payments. The service is currently available to UK based staff through an internal iOS app pilot. The app enables users to transfer between £10 and £10,000, payments can be made from GBP to EUR and USD. Currently, payments made in EUR can be sent to 21 countries and US Dollar payments to the USA only. Reasons behind At the moment, money transfers abroad tend to take several days, and customers can never be sure how much money will arrive in an overseas account, as various lifting fees are applied by banks and taken along the way in an opaque process. More and more is being done through mobile and online. We know that customers like to use their mobile to manage their money when they are on the move, which is why we created this mobile application based on the Ripple’s distributed financial technology. The need for financial services has evolved from providing a physical Pound in your pocket or card in your purse, and accept it at a till, to being seamlessly integrated into a new, always on, connected lifestyle. At Santander we work hard to ensure our banking is simple, personal and fair and believe new blockchain technology will play a transformational role in the way we achieve our goals and better serve our customers, adding value by creating more choice and convenience. State of competition Digital payment businesses, such as TransferWise, Hi-Fx and others are currently providing exciting new International Payment propositions, therefore challenging banks to deliver new and innovative ways to enhance customer experience and better serve their customers. Customers are at the heart of what we do, so we welcome competition in this space, as ultimately it ensures the customer has access to a range of providers who are all looking to finesse their products and services, making them as cost effective, simple and user friendly as possible. Sources of inspiration We recognise that customers are doing more and more online, so we’re always looking at how we can make their payment journey as simple and easy as possible. By using blockchain — database technology that enables a secure, widely held ledger of transactions to be kept — Santander uses Ripple (and Earthport where the recipient isn’t Ripple connected) to provide next-day money transfers and ensure that customers’ funds arrive in full. Payments of between £10 and £10,000 can be sent, at any time of the day, in euros or dollars across 21 different countries. Departments involved Developing complex services require new thinking and contribution from all areas of the business including Accounting Controls, Compliance, and Financial Crime not to mention Infosec and the Technical Development and Implementation. We are lucky to have commitment from across the business, all departments genuinely believe in our innovation agenda. Main results so far. Initially, this is only a UK staff pilot, so Santander employees are the user group. Being an international company with many foreign nationals having accounts overseas means we have seen a positive uptake of the technology and usage figures are growing daily.