Elavon and Banco Santander Close Deal to Deliver Merchant Services in Spain

Elavon and Banco Santander Close Deal to Deliver Merchant Services in Spain

Joint Venture Delivers Santander's Brand and Elavon's Technology Innovation and Investments to Spanish Businesses

ATLANTA & MADRID--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Elavon, a leading global payments provider, and Banco Santander, an international financial institution operating in 10 major markets with more than 100 million clients serviced by 15,000 branches, today confirm the establishment of a joint venture (JV) relationship in Spain, originally announced and proposed for regulatory approval in October 2012. Elavon is a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYS: USB) .

The agreement establishes the JV, Santander Elavon Merchant Services, 51% of which will belong to Elavon and the remaining 49% to Santander. Assuming responsibility for Santander's existing merchant customers and leveraging the bank's extensive branch network to source new business, the JV's specialized teams will provide service, support and innovative solutions informed by voice of the customer and designed to enable commerce for businesses of all sizes.

Juan Golmayo, named CEO of the JV, will lead the organization's efforts and has over 20 years experience in the cards industry. Juan comes to the JV from Iberia Cards, a leading card issuer in Spain, owned by Iberia, the Spanish leading airline, Banco Popular, BBVA and Bankia.

The JV is positioned to build for success, together with the backing of Santander's respected brand and Elavon's award-winning International Processing Platform and IP Gateway, recognized as the Best Merchant Acquiring Initiative by the Cards & Payments Awards in 2012.

"Santander Elavon Merchant Services will deliver great benefits to business customers of all sizes across Spain, and Juan's ability to deliver on this opportunity is proven in the marketplace," said Simon Haslam, President of International Markets for Elavon. "From providing global accounts with a single source provider across their portfolio, to addressing the needs of small business customers, this JV leverages the best that both Santander and Elavon offer," Haslam said.

The new JV extends an existing relationship between Elavon and Santander dating from 2003 when the companies launched foreign currency payment services for Spanish retailers. It also further strengthens alliance relationships between the two companies in the United Kingdom, Poland, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

"We have enjoyed working with Elavon since 2003 and have found our relationship to be mutually beneficial in every market we work in together," said Enrique Garcia Candelas, Senior Executive Vice President of Commercial Banking, Santander - Spain. "This JV is yet another example of how we work together to bring the best value to customers in the markets we serve."

About Elavon (www.elavon.com): Elavon's Global Acquiring Solutions organization provides end-to-end payment processing services to more than one million merchants in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Brazil. Elavon markets solutions including credit and debit card processing, electronic check services, gift cards, dynamic currency conversion, multi-currency support, and cross-border acquiring through multiple alliance channels including financial institutions, trade associations and third party sales agents. Elavon's suite of solutions is tailored to meet the needs of merchants in specialized markets such as small business, retail, hospitality/T&E, health care, education and the public sector. European activities are conducted through Elavon Financial Services Limited, an Irish registered bank headquartered in Dublin, which is a wholly owned subsidiary within the U.S. Bancorp (NYS: USB) group of companies.

About U.S. Bancorp (www.usbank.com): U.S. Bancorp (NYS: USB) , with $354 billion in assets as of December 31, 2012, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the 5th largest commercial bank in the United States. The Company operates 3,084 banking offices in 25 states and 5,065 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions.

About Banco Santander: Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N, BNC.LN) is a retail and commercial bank, based in Spain, with a presence in 10 main markets. Santander is the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1.388 trillion in managed funds, 102 million customers, 14,392 branches - more than any other international bank - and 187,000 employees at the close of 2012. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America. It also has significant positions in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, Poland and the northeast United States. Santander had a pre-provision profit of EUR 23.559 billion in 2012, an increase of 2% from the previous year.

ELAVON
Claire Gajeckyj (Europe)
claire.gajeckyj@elavon.com
Direct line: 01923 651542
or
Jessica Dixon (Agency, Europe)
jessica.dixon@spider-pr.com
Telephone: 020 7403 6900
or
Teri Charest (U.S. Bank)
teri.charest@usbank.com
Direct line: +1-612-303-0732
or
SANTANDER
Patricia Colino Camara
Direct line: +34 91 289 52 11
comunicacionbancosantander@gruposantander.com

KEYWORDS: United States Brazil Mexico Europe North America Central America South America Georgia Minnesota Spain

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:

The article Elavon and Banco Santander Close Deal to Deliver Merchant Services in Spain originally appeared on Fool.com.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.