Santander Positions New Digital Platform as First Step in US Expansion

Santander’s digital banking platform, Openbank, is now officially live in the United States.

According to a Monday (Oct. 21) press release, the launch marks a significant expansion of Santander’s U.S. consumer banking operations beyond the Northeast, enabling the bank to serve customers nationwide.

Openbank features an onboarding process that can be completed in as little as five minutes via the Openbank app or website, per the release.

Built on proprietary technology, Openbank integrates core banking infrastructure with what the bank describes as a user-friendly front-end interface that enhances customer experience while reducing operational costs, according to the announcement.

“Openbank reflects our belief that … deploying our own core and front-end, cloud-based technology globally is essential and will deliver sustainable competitive advantage,” Banco Santander Executive Chairman Ana Botín said in the release. “The US is a key market for us, where we have been expanding our business over the past years. Openbank is banking made easy and will offer the best high yield savings accounts in America that is simple and fast with a competitive rate.”

Openbank is part of a broader growth strategy by Santander to roll out additional banking products throughout 2025. This expansion aims to provide a full suite of banking services in the U.S., similar to its existing offerings in Europe.

“The Openbank launch will help accelerate Santander US execution against its growth strategy, generating deposits to fund its leading auto franchise,” Santander said in the release.

Calling Openbank “one of the most advanced digital banks in Europe,” Openbank Global CEO Petri Nikkilä said in the release, “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.”

In other recent Santander news, Santander Consumer last month announced it was expanding its small business offering to all auto dealers using its platform. The program lets small business owners and entrepreneurs finance vehicles through Santander’s consumer banking division, broadening the financing options available to them.