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Santander uses Ripple technology to offer international payments
Santander has launched an international fund transfer service for retail customers in the UK about two years after it started testing the blockchain-based application
Spanish banking giant Santander is offering its retail bank customers the ability to make same day international transfers via blockchain-based technology.
The Santander One Pay FX service, now available in the UK, Spain, Brazil and Poland, uses xCurrent blockchain technology from fintech company Ripple. The bank invested in Ripple in 2015 as part of its $200m fintech investment fund, Innoventures.
The service was first announced in May 2016, when testing began. It will enable customers to transfer the money on the same day and see the exact amount they will receive before they trigger the transaction.
Santander said it is the first bank to roll out a blockchain-based international payments service to retail customers in multiple countries simultaneously.
“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.
“Our goal is to help the thousands of people who use international payments services every day, and we will be adding more currencies and destinations in the coming months.
“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.”
Read more about blockchain
- In This e-guide, read about how blockchain’s inherent security makes it tamper-proof, and perfect for keeping and sharing records for transactions in many scenarios.
- The European Commission is aiming to get the most out of blockchain technology in a wide variety of sectors.
- By doing away with a central authority in internet of things (IoT) networks, blockchain technology can reduce the risk of IoT devices being compromised by a single point of security failure.
The service can be used via a mobile phone. It connects to Apple Pay, where users can confirm payments securely using Touch or Face ID. Transfers between £10 and £10,000 can be made 24 hours a day.
In 2017, The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) began using Ripple’s blockchain-based technology to transmit cross-border payments, and said it is the first in the region to do so.
