Banco Santander is launching Ripple based payment application. Banco Santander, one of Spain's largest banks, will partner with Ripple to launch an international money transfer using Ripple's Blockchain xCurrent and RippleNet platforms.

"We will be the first major retail bank to make cross-border payments with Blockchain technology"

At the International Fintech conference in London, Santander's UK CEO Nathan Bostock said of the coming app release:

If we do not pass this spring, we will be the first major retail bank to make cross-border payments with Blockchain technology.

Banco Santander Ripple-based payment application available in Spain, Brazil, UK and Poland

Santander CEO Ana Botin talked about launching the application in the company's 2017 balance sheet presentation at the end of January this year. The application will be available in 4 different countries including Spain, Brazil, UK and Poland. The application targets retail banking customers with the slogan "3 click 40 seconds".

Banco Santander has already been experimenting with payments in USD, GBP and EUR since May 2016.

The payment application can also estimate the cost of a money transfer

Santander invested in Ripple in 2015 and 2016. The two companies tested their international payment practice in 2016 with Ripple technology testing, indicating that they had completed the transfer in less than a day. The payment application can also estimate the cost of a money transfer.

Until now, Ripple partnered with MoneyGram to speed up fiat settlements. There is a consortium of 61 Japanese banks to create an instant domestic payment application and a South Korean bank for "commercial" international companies among others.

InnoVentures, one of Banco Santander's venture capital funds, became an investor in Ripple by joining the A series fund, which was built by Ripple in September 2016.