Fintech

Santander closes short-lived PagoFX international transfer app

Santander-run payment fintech PagoNxt announced plans today to close its international money transfer service application, designed to rival Revolut and Wise, on November 30, according to Finextra.

The company says it plans to shut the service, which allows users in the UK, Spain and Belgium to send money overseas with only their smartphone, after a “strategic review” of the business.

This review comes just after PagoFX architect Chirag Patel happened to leave the bank last month, in order to join London-based Paysafe.

PagoFX, which launched as its own company serving the UK in April 2020, has over 50 team members at the time in Madrid, London and Brussels. Existing customers can continue using the service until November 29, the platform has already stopped registration and verification of new accounts and will close all accounts by December 7.

Although the company is shutting down its money transfer app, the spin-off company created by Santander will continue to offer services in its other business verticals, according to Finance Magnates. These services include international payments, supply chain and trade finance solutions for service businesses, SMEs and corporate clients.

SMEs have been a focus for Santander and its business ventures recently, with the large Spanish mega bank announcing today that it is joining forces with the European Investment Fund to provide financing for Spanish SMEs.

The agreement is part of the EU’s Pan-European Guarantee Fund, a €540 billion impact package designed to combat COVID-19’s economic consequences and is aimed at businesses with medium- to long-term growth and development plans.

Santander also recently signed two agreements with the European Investment Bank (EIB) in June, to provide €2 billion worth of credit lines for advance payment support to Spanish and European suppliers affected by the pandemic.

It seems that instead of short-term transfer fees, Santander has decided it wants to build out its long-term growth strategies, and attract small business customers for brand loyalty down the road.

In other recent fintech news, Ramp and Rippling partnered to bridge the gap between financial automation and HR departments with new corporate card features. Financial document automation platform Ocrolus also announced raising a $80 million Series C led by Fin VC, in order to “aggressively” build new products for mortgage lending and banking industries.

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