Santander eyes European expansion for BNPL offering Zinia

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panish banking giant Santander has officially launched a new buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform called Zinia as it seeks to strengthen its position in the burgeoning BNPL space. Zinia’s BNPL technology has attracted over two million customers since its introduction in Germany, the bank said. Santander now plans to roll out its BNPL offering in other markets under the Zinia brand, starting in the Netherlands.

Zinia allows customers to pay for their shopping in interest-free instalments online or through the physical point of sale (POS). The users can also access exclusive offers and financing alternatives through the Zinia app.

Additionally, partner merchants can use Zinia to offer customers a ‘fast and secure’ payment option boosting sales and repeat business.

Santander Consumer Finance and Openbank CEO Ezequiel Szafir said: “Today we are launching a new platform that offers consumers a convenient and flexible payment option with the security and trust provided by a large financial group like Santander. We are delighted with Zinia’s early expansion and aim to become a leader in the buy now, pay later market”.

Zinia uses artificial intelligence-based credit assessment technology developed by Openbank, its digital bank which already serves 1.7 million customers across five countries in Europe and the Americas to make credit decisions.

The BNPL service is also expected to benefit from Santander Consumer Finance’s scale, which caters to over 19 million customers through 63,000 affiliated merchants.

Zinia is the first project developed by Santander’s Digital Consumer Bank (DCB), which combines Santander Consumer Finance (SCF) and Openbank. SCF is the leading consumer finance bank with a presence in 16 European countries, US and Canada offering products and services to more than 19 million customers and 130,000 points of sale. Openbank is Santander’s digital bank with a full catalogue of financial products and its own digital platform.