LAST UPDATE: 01/02/2022

Openbank, Spain's first 100% digital bank, is synonymous with innovation. Since its inception, this project has revolutionised the concept of banking. Now, with technological breakthroughs, it is relying on artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to improve its services.

Openbank, which originally launched more than 28 years ago as a telephone assistance service for our customers in Spain, has now become an entire innovation and development project providing state-of-the-art services to more than 2 million people around the world.

What’s more, for Openbank there are no borders. In 2019, our services launched in Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. In 2022, Openbank begins operations in Argentina.

“International expansion is a milestone for us,” notes Openbank’s CEO, Ezequiel Szafir, in reference to the bank’s expansion strategy.

Nor are there limits

Our 100% digital bank continues to explore new ways to bring innovation to its services. Indeed, it was one of the world's first banks to use a cloud-based IT infrastructure, making finances easier, simpler and faster to manage. It was also one of the first banks to use artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to enhance security and protection against fraud.

And that's not all. With Ezequiel Szafir at the helm, the bank has also turned to robo-advisors to develop a revolutionary automated investment service that combines target-based investment with automated managers. This service adapts the investment strategy to changes in the market. Openbank’s unwavering commitment to innovation earned us Forbes' recognition as the Best Bank in Spain in 2019.

"The bank's success is the result of understanding that innovation and digital and technological transformation are a catalyst for our business model and our strategy, turning challenges into opportunities," says Ana Botín, Santander Group executive chairman.
 

Openbank: evolution and progress

The story of the bank, which has marked a turning point in Spain's banking landscape, began in 1995. At Openbank we initially provided basic services over the phone and had 100,000 customers in just one country. But our innovative vision and our efforts have made Openbank one of the most ambitious digital projects in the banking world today, affecting millions of people.
 

In 2011, this desire to grow and evolve made us the first bank with a native mobile app for Android and for iOS. We now have one of the most complete, flexible and agile platforms in the sector.

“We want to make personalised financial services available to people wherever they are and however they want them. For those who prefer an exclusively digital service via mobile phone, says Ana Botín, who considers Openbank "everyone's bank", this is a project without limits or borders, designed to improve people's lives.