Santander joins GBP £550 million Ebury funding round

Santander has agreed to take part in a funding round of about GBP £550 million for Ebury.

Led by Centrebridge Partners, the investment will leave Santander with a 55% stake in the payments fintech. Existing investors Vitruvian Partners and 83North are also participating.

The deal provides fresh backing for Ebury, which focuses on cross-border payments and trade services for businesses. Santander will invest GBP £50 million as part of the transaction.

The funding will be carried out through two separate transactions and remains subject to regulatory approval.

Ebury operates in 30 regulated markets and serves more than 27,000 businesses. It enables payments in more than 140 currencies across 160 countries, offering international payments, foreign exchange risk management, intra-group fund transfers and software integrations.

The investment highlights Santander's continued commitment to a business it uses as its cross-border payments platform for small and medium-sized enterprises. The transaction will also support Ebury's expansion into new markets, including Australia, where it has been growing its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Growth plans

Ebury said proceeds from the round, including primary and secondary elements, will be used for product development and geographic expansion. The company also plans to invest in artificial intelligence tools for payment processing, foreign exchange services and customer support.

Ebury has expanded rapidly since Santander first invested in 2020. Over that period, revenue has grown by more than 30% a year, according to Santander.

The transaction will also affect Santander's financial reporting. Once completed, the bank will account for its 55% holding using the equity method, meaning Ebury's revenue and costs will no longer be consolidated into Santander's results.

That change is expected to have a negligible effect on Santander's income statement. The funding rounds are also expected to add about four basis points to its common equity tier one ratio at group level, subject to approval and completion.

Investor backing

Centrebridge's lead role adds a new investor to Ebury's shareholder base while preserving Santander's majority control.

Ebury has become an increasingly important part of Santander's payments business as banks and specialist fintechs compete for international transaction flows from smaller companies. Businesses trading across borders often need foreign exchange services, rapid settlement and tools that connect with treasury and accounting systems.

Demand for those services has increased as more small and mid-sized firms buy from and sell to overseas markets. That has attracted competition from banks, specialist payments firms and newer fintech groups seeking a share of the market.

Ana Botín, Executive Chair of Banco Santander, said: "These transactions support both Ebury's continued growth and Santander's focus on disciplined capital allocation and value creation. The additional investments will enable Ebury to scale faster and enhance its offering to SMEs globally. The new partners also add significant strategic value, combining complementary expertise to accelerate growth and maximise the platform's long-term potential."

Juan Lobato, chief executive of Ebury, said: "We are delighted to welcome Centrebridge as a new investor alongside our existing investors. We are also very pleased to continue our partnership with Santander, having demonstrated that by combining the strengths of a leading European bank with a fast-growing fintech, we can build a world-leading cross-border payments platform for businesses. These investments come at a pivotal time, as the evolution of digital money infrastructure and agentic payment workflows will provide strong tailwinds and further accelerate our growth."

Santander's broader financial targets remain unchanged. Its Payments Solutions business is still targeting annual revenue growth of more than 15% over 2026 to 2028 and an EBITDA margin of about 45% by 2028.