Santander Launches Openbank Digital Bank in Mexico
Santander’s fully digital bank, Openbank, launched in Mexico on Tuesday (Nov. 19).
The Openbank Mexico website and app are now operating, promising a fully digital bank, no minimum balances, no fees and competitive interest rates, Openbank said in a Tuesday press release.
Customers can also access 24/7 telephone support and all 10,000 Santander Mexico ATMs, according to the release.
“Openbank Mexico is now a reality for all Mexicans who want to manage their finances quickly, easily, 100% digitally, and with the security and solvency of Santander,” Openbank Mexico CEO Matías Núñez said in the release.
“Our proposition combines one of the most advanced digital banking experiences with the best FinTech, not to mention the trust and backing of a large international financial group.”
Openbank has successfully tested its digital banking experience in Spain, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands, becoming Europe’s largest digital bank by deposit volume, according to the release.
It began operating in the United States in recent weeks and plans to provide financial services throughout the country, the release said.
“Openbank’s banking model is a key component of Santander’s digital transformation,” Openbank Global CEO Petri Nikkila said in the release. “Mexico is a market with great potential for a state-of-the-art digital bank like Openbank.”
Santander announced in April that it would launch its Openbank digital bank in the U.S. and Mexico in the second half of the year.
At the time, Openbank served 2 million customers in four European countries and had €18 billion (about $19.5 billion) in deposits.
On Oct. 21, Santander said Openbank was officially live in the U.S. It added that the launch of this digital banking platform marked a significant expansion of Santander’s U.S. consumer banking operations beyond the Northeast.
Three days after Openbank was launched in the U.S., offering high-yield savings accounts, it was reported that Santander Executive Chair Ana Botin said the bank will have a full-service digital bank in the country by the end of 2025.
Santander is one of the few European banks with a retail presence in the U.S., with 409 branches in the country, mostly in the Northeast.
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