The Banco Santander will be carrying out an update to its services this weekend, which will affect the company’s operations. Specifically, from June 14 at 9:00 PM (Peninsular time), some services in Spain will be unavailable for a few hours. In other countries, operations will continue as normal, as will be the case for users of Openbank, its digital subsidiary.
Which services are affected?
During this period, bank customers will not be able to access digital banking, the application, or the Contact Center, meaning they will not be able to use Bizum, make transfers, or contract products or services. As described in the information sent to users, ATMs will be available, but only for cash withdrawals.
What will continue to work?
On the other hand, card payments will function normally, both in physical establishments and for online purchases, meaning POS terminals are not affected. The bank explains that these will be specific times and that the intention is to make these functions available again on Sunday.
Santander as a pioneer in cross-border payments
Banco Santander is the first company in Spain to introduce instant cross-border payments between individuals in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Andorra. Through the EuroPA (European Payments Alliance) initiative, Bizum, Bancomat, and MB WAY will be connected. These are the main mobile payment solutions in their respective countries, with over 2 billion transactions made in 2024 and a market share of over 65%. In this initial phase, the project already connects over 50 million people (nearly 30 million of whom are Bizum users) and 186 financial institutions in the four territories. Although this payment method is aimed at individuals, it is expected to be expanded to other cases in the future. Further companies such as Openbank, Abanca, or CaixaBank are expected to join in the coming weeks.
