Santander CIB partners with SAP to digitise global transaction banking

Santander Corporate and Investment Banking (Santander CIB) has entered into a strategic partnership with software group SAP to boost digitalisation across global transaction banking services.

The two firms will produce solutions around the concept of invisible banking, improving client-to-banking connectivity, providing financial tools to help clients navigate supply chain disruptions, and accelerating the decarbonisation of industrial activities.

The collaboration will enable Santander CIB to embed its services within corporate clients’ enterprise resources planning (ERP) with the ambition of transforming the client-to-bank interactions for the whole suite of global transaction banking products.

“This partnership is a step forward in the digitalisation of the solutions we provide to our clients, with a strong focus on connectivity, supply chain management and energy transition,” said Jose Luis Calderon, head of global transaction banking (GTB) at Santander CIB.

Following the partnership agreement, Santander CIB has joined SAP Multi-Bank Connectivity (MBC), a platform connecting financial institutions with corporate customers on SAP-owned networks.

Santander CIB’s membership to SAP MBC provides the bank with increased efficiency during the onboarding process of new clients into its ecosystem.

The firm’s push to digitise global transaction banking services comes amid the growing demand for digital services across all areas of banking and specifically in corporate services.

According to a survey of corporate CFOs and treasurers conducted by Intesa Sanpolo, more than 70% of respondents wanted a fully digital approach for their day-by-day operations.

Santander continues digitalisation journey

The latest partnership also underscores Santander CIB’s parent group Banco Santander’s ongoing digitalisation journey.

The Spanish entity has pledged to invest over €20 billion in digital and technology until 2025, introducing several digital solutions to existing services.

In April, the North American arm of the banking group launched a digitised payment solution, Santander eLockBox, to enable clients to automate their revenue cycle while saving time and capital.

In May, Banco Santander announced that it had already migrated 80% of its core banking infrastructure to the cloud using its in-house developed software, Gravity.

Cloud migration accelerates

As part of their digitalisation journey, banks are also switching to cloud to offer a more seamless and digital solutions to their clients.

Last week, US community bank Arvest secured a five-year partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate its digital transformation. The bank will migrate its data centres to Google Cloud, replacing its current IT architecture and systems.

In January, peer Mascoma had also turned to cloud, partnering with Thought Machine to use its cloud platform to host the bank’s services, signalling the growing trend among community banks as well.

In Europe, ABN AMRO extended its partnership with Swiss banking software provider to support customer growth and business expansion on the Temenos Banking Cloud.

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