Spanish bank Banco Santander SA agreed to acquire a stake in a U.K.-based payments platform for £350 million ($453 million), as European banks hobbled by ultralow interest rates target growth areas. Santander will purchase just over 50% of Ebury, according to company officials, a banking platform through which small and medium-size companies trade internationally. Currently, Santander helps those companies based in Spain and the U.K. with their global trade, but relies on so-called correspondent banks in other countries to facilitate payments. At the 10 largest transaction banks by revenue, transaction banking revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has been largely steady since 2015, according to research firm Coalition. Santander is potentially looking to acquire other merchant-acquiring startups, which process payments on behalf of merchants, she added.

Source: Wall Street Journal November 04, 2019 09:56 UTC