The UK arm of international bank Santander has announced a new partnership with Worldpay.
The move will see the company expand payments services for its business, corporate and commercial banking customers.
It will also give its UK customers access to a range of new e-commerce capabilities, integrated payments, and point-of-sale solutions.
They will also be able to engage with e-commerce and implementation consultants for support and value-added services.
Santander UK currently has around 18,000 employees and serves 14 million active customers.
“At Santander, we are committed to providing the best solutions to help our customers prosper,” said Gerry Davies, payments commercial director, Santander UK. “Our new partnership with Worldpay will give our UK customers access to secure and innovative ways to be accept payments, alongside a suite of value added services to help improve efficiency and grow their business.”
Payments technology firm Worldpay processes over 50 billion transactions across 174 countries and 135 currencies annually.
Chris Wood, general manager for SMB UK and Ireland at Worldpay added:
“This long-term agreement opens an important new distribution channel with one of the UK’s most preeminent banks to support more businesses with the tools they need to drive growth.”
Last month, Santander UK began freezing salaries, reducing bonuses and cutting jobs across its commercial banking division as part of a broader restructuring that could make the bank more attractive to potential buyers.
The Spanish-owned lender unexpectedly changed bankers’ job titles and reorganised staff into new teams, with many employees being moved into positions where pay ranges are up to 25 per cent lower than before, according to internal communications seen by The Guardian.
At the time, a spokesperson for Santander UK said: “We are moving to a fairer, more transparent bonus structure across Santander UK, which will promote high performance at every level of the bank. We regularly review job data across the bank, and we annually agree salary increases with our recognised trade unions.”
The restructuring comes as Santander prepares for potential fallout from the car finance commission scandal, which analysts at RBC Capital estimate could cost the bank up to £1.9bn in compensation to former borrowers.
Earlier this year, reports emerged that Santander UK might be put up for sale. According to the Financial Times, Banco Santander rejected an £11bn bid for its UK retail bank for being too low. More recently, NatWest Group reportedly approached Santander with a similar offer, which was also declined.
The cost-cutting extends beyond personnel changes, with the corporate and commercial bank’s annual charity cricket day match, typically held in June, having been cancelled.
This restructuring follows previous job cuts, with Santander UK having eliminated approximately 2,000 positions last year. In March, the bank announced the closure of 95 of its 444 high street branches and reduced services at a further 50 locations, putting 750 jobs at risk.
