Santander has launched its digital banking platform Openbank in the United States, enabling the Spanish giant to serve customers nationwide for the first time and signaling an ambitious new phase in its American growth strategy.
The nationwide rollout, which began in October, allows Santander to compete for deposits across all 50 states through a digital-only model that complements its physical branch network confined to the Northeast.
“The U.S. is a key market for us, where we have been expanding our business over the past years,” said Ana Botín, Executive Chairman of Banco Santander. She added that deploying their cloud-based technology globally “is essential and will deliver sustainable competitive advantage.”
Initially offering a high-yield savings product with more services planned for 2025, the platform can onboard customers in as little as five minutes through its mobile app or website. The technology integrates core banking infrastructure with customer-facing applications that Santander developed in-house as part of its global technology transformation programme.
This expansion comes as traditional banks face increasing competition from digital challengers in the U.S. retail banking sector, where deposit gathering has become a strategic priority. Openbank’s deposits will help fund Santander’s auto lending business, which serves 3.7 million customers through Santander Consumer USA.
“Openbank combines the agility and innovation of a fintech with the security and backing of one of the world’s largest financial groups,” Botín said at the launch.
In Europe, Openbank has established itself as the continent’s largest digital-only bank by deposit volume, operating in Spain, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands. The model has proven successful, with the platform offering a full suite of banking services including current accounts, loans and investment products in those markets.
For Santander, whose U.S. journey began in 2006 with a 25% stake in a regional Northeastern bank (followed by full acquisition in 2009), the digital expansion represents a strategic shift in how it approaches the American market.
Banking analysts view the Openbank launch as creating synergies between Santander’s various American businesses. The bank now has “the opportunity to create further synergies, providing the Santander Auto business with a growing and cost-effective source of funding to reducing its loan to deposit ratio,” according to a statement on Santander’s website.
The Spanish banking giant has also been strengthening its investment banking operations in the United States. Earlier this year, Santander outlined plans to grow this division by an accumulated rate of 20% between 2023 and 2025. In 2022, the investment banking business generated $779 million in U.S. revenues.
To support this growth, Santander appointed Christiana Riley from Deutsche Bank as regional head and has been recruiting around 150 bankers primarily in the U.S., according to industry reports.
Petri Nikkilä, Global CEO of Openbank, emphasized the platform’s customer-centric approach. “Our goal is to offer US customers the best high yield savings account through a digital-first service, which is fast, simple with a competitive rate, and a superior customer experience accessible anytime, anywhere,” he said.
Despite recent challenges in its American operations, including a 50% drop in net profit in the third quarter and rising provisions for bad loans, Santander remains committed to its U.S. expansion. The bank has ambitious plans to double its business in U.S. investment banking, even as it navigates loan losses and higher funding costs.
The Openbank launch is part of Santander’s broader transformation strategy. By combining digital banking with its established auto finance, commercial, and investment banking operations, the Spanish giant aims to strengthen its position in what it calls “the largest market in the world.”
For Santander, which serves more than 168 million customers worldwide, success in the American market could significantly impact its global growth trajectory. As traditional banking increasingly shifts toward digital models, Santander’s ability to compete with both established U.S. banks and emerging fintech players will likely determine whether this digital push becomes the breakthrough it has been seeking in the American market.