ATLANTA & MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Elavon, a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and a leading global payments provider, has extended its relationship with Santander, one of the strongest and best capitalized banks in the world, through the establishment of a joint alliance in Mexico.
The alliance establishes a new global foothold for Elavon in a burgeoning credit card market and capitalizes on an existing relationship with Santander in Spain, the UK and Puerto Rico.
Under the terms of the marketing alliance, acquiring services will be offered to existing and prospective Santander merchants, backed by the powerful combination of the trusted Santander brand and Elavon’s payments industry expertise.
“Santander has always offered acquiring services as a valuable product to our clients,” said Marcos MartÃnez Gavica, Executive President of Santander-Mexico. “However, we believe that we can better respond to the needs of the payments industry and our customers by transitioning the business to an alliance solely dedicated to acquiring.”
“Expanding our global footprint into Latin America is in line with Elavon’s global growth strategy,” said Stuart C. Harvey, Jr., CEO of Elavon. “Santander is a strong, trusted bank and this alliance will deepen our relationship while delivering value to merchants doing business in Mexico.”
About Elavon: Elavon's Global Acquiring Solutions organization is a part of U.S. Bancorp. Elavon provides end-to-end payment processing services to more than one million merchants in the United States, Europe, Canada and Puerto Rico. Solutions include credit and debit card processing, electronic check services, gift cards, dynamic currency conversion, multi-currency support, and cross-border acquiring. Elavon's services are marketed through multiple alliance partner channels including financial institutions, trade associations and ISOs. Elavon has solutions to meet the needs of merchants in specialized markets including small business, retail, hospitality/T&E, health care, education and the public sector. Visit Elavon online at www.elavon.com.
About U.S. Bancorp: U.S. Bancorp, with $281 billion in assets as of December 31, 2009, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the 5th largest commercial bank in the United States. U.S. Bank was recognized by Euromoney magazine in July 2009 as the “Best Bank in the United States.” The company operates 3,015 retail banking offices in 25 states and 5,148 ATMs, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. In addition to its North American business, U.S. Bancorp provides payment services internationally through Elavon. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.
About Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N): Banco Santander is a retail and commercial bank, based in Spain. At the end of 2008, Santander was the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization and third in the world by profit. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1,168 billion in managed funds at the end of 2008. Following the acquisition of Sovereign Bancorp of the U.S. in January 2009, Santander has 90 million customers, more than 14,000 branches – more than any other international bank – and 170,000 employees. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America, with leading positions in the United Kingdom and Portugal and a broad presence in Europe through its Santander Consumer Finance arm. For more information visit www.santander.com.
