Banco Santander has announced that it will no longer charge fees for international transfers between individuals made through its app and website. This change applies to all retail customers, regardless of the destination country or transfer amount.
According to the bank, “It is the only bank in Spain that does not charge a fee for sending money anywhere in the world and for any amount.” The new policy is intended to make banking simpler and more accessible for customers who send money abroad, both within Europe and to countries outside the SEPA zone.
Previously, international transfers outside SEPA—such as those sent to Mexico, Colombia, China, or the United States—were subject to commission and SWIFT fees that could reach around 50 euros even when processed digitally. With this update, Banco Santander aims to remove barriers and offer a more straightforward process for cross-border payments.
The bank also stated: “Santander thus reinforces its leadership in digital payment services and moves forward with its strategy to offer customers a borderless banking experience, with a simple process that helps bring customers closer to their family and friends anywhere in the world.”
Starting next week, Santander will also adjust branch-based international transfer fees outside SEPA. Transfers up to 10,000 euros will have a fixed fee of 20 euros; amounts above this threshold will be charged 50 euros.
Banco Santander was previously the first Spanish bank to enable instant cross-border payments between individuals using only a mobile phone number. This service is possible due to partnerships with payment solutions such as Bizum (Spain), Bancomat (Italy), and MBWay (Portugal). Customers can send or receive money instantly by selecting contacts from their phonebook. The system offers security comparable to Bizum transactions within Spain.
Technical tests are underway to expand this peer-to-peer payment alliance further by including Blik (Poland and Slovakia) and Vipps MobilePay (Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark). If successful, this expansion would allow access across nine European countries with over 80 million users.
