PagoFX, which is the international money transfer platform of Banco Santander, is going to shut its services on November 30, 2021, only a little more than a year after its launch, citing it as ‘part of a strategic move’.
The company has already stopped the registration and verification process of new accounts but will allow existing customers to use its services until November 29. The platform will close all accounts by December 7 unless the accounts are pending transactions.
“It has been decided to close the international money transfer service in the UK, Spain and Belgium,” the company stated.
Diverting Resources to Other Services
However, the company is only shutting down its money transfer app, but the Fintech entity of the Spanish bank will continue to offer services in its other business vertices. “PagoFX’s technology and resources will be used to support the wider PagoNxt Group and its customer proposition,” the notice added.
PagoFX is part of the fintech PagoNXT and allowed users to transfers money internationally, using any debit or credit card. It was launched in April last year and initially only allowed users from Spain before expanding its services to other neighboring countries.
The platform allowed cross-border transfers to the Eurozone, including other European countries, several nations across Asia, Oceania and the Americas. It was a direct competitor to other major UK fintechs like Wise and Revolut, and was taking them on, in terms of fees.
With the closure, the company is now likely to deploy PagoFX assets and money transfer rails to grow its trade services businesses, offering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporates international Payments , supply chain and trade finance solutions.
