Banco Santander today announced the UK launch of its low-cost international money transfer service, PagoFX.

This new service, available via a mobile app, allows UK residents with a debit card issued by any UK bank or financial entity to quickly send money abroad with low costs, bank-level security and customer support via in-app chat, web and e-mail.

In light of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, PagoFX will allow customers to use the service to transfer money abroad without any fees at all for the next two months.

PagoFX - which works as an autonomous startup with more than 50 people in Madrid, London and Brussels - brings together Santander’s expertise in international payments, foreign exchange and high security standards, with the digital innovation and competitive pricing of the FinTech sector.

Ana Botín, group executive chairman of Banco Santander, said: “This is a unique proposition and we hope it will help many people and businesses. It draws on our world-class technology and talent to deliver a new and highly relevant service for everyone in the open market.”

The launch is part of Santander’s four-year (2019-2022), €20 billion digital technology pledge, focused on payments.

PagoFX is the open-market version of Santander’s existing international money transfer service One Pay FX, which offers transparent international transfers to its bank customers in Europe and the Americas.

It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, safeguarding funds until the associated payment has been sent, so users are fully protected in the case of defective execution of any payment.

With the PagoFX service, international payments can currently be made in selected currencies from the UK to the US, the eurozone, Poland, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Czech Republic, with plans to introduce further currencies and payment options in the short term.

The service will be rolled-out to sole traders and small-and-medium-sized enterprises in the UK via the PagoFX website and mobile app in the near future. In addition, PagoFX will be launched in other European countries later this year and be present in around 20 markets in the next three to four years.

The Coronavirus no-fee programme is available to all registered UK users of the PagoFX app on Android or iOS. Until 16 June, PagoFX shall waive international money transfer fees on transactions up to a limit of £3,000 per user. This limit is cumulative though, so once a user submits a single or multiple transactions above that limit, PagoFX’s standard fees shall apply on all amounts above the limit.

In Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and the Czech Republic, money transfer fees are set at 0.70 per cent of the sent amount. For transfers to the US, Poland and Denmark, the fee is 0.80 per cent of sent amount.

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