Santander and Pemberton form joint venture for Supply Chain Finance

Aimed at providing inventory management and financing solutions for multinational supply chains, the venture combines Santander's expertise in trade finance with Pemberton's capabilities in non-working capital financing to address evolving supply chain needs.

Supporting supply chain evolution

In the official press release, Santander officials highlighted that Invensa is designed to support businesses transitioning from traditional ‘just-in-time’ supply chain models to more resilient ‘just-in-case’ strategies. The company will focus on offering scalable solutions for inventory financing and operational efficiency. 

They noted that inventory financing plays a critical role in managing clients' working capital and explained that Santander has been facilitating third-party inventory finance solutions for over a decade. In essence, the partnership with Pemberton enables the bank to enhance its long-term service offerings for clients. The collaboration, officials added, reflects the growing importance of addressing inventory management as part of a comprehensive supply chain solution.

What else has Santander been up to?

In November 2024, Reuters reported that Banco Santander decided to move forward with a plan to reduce 1,425 jobs within its UK operations.

According to the same source, the bank’s decision to implement layoffs was part of an effort to cut costs. Banco Santander officials confirmed the decision in a press conference, revealing that 1,425 is the number of roles being reduced. The Guardian reported that most of the layoffs have already been completed, with the remaining cuts expected to conclude by the end of 2024.

In October 2024, Token.io partnered with Santander UK, to use Token.io’s Open Banking technology and infrastructure to enhance Santander’s customer experiences and create real-time payment solutions.   

According to the official press release, Santander integrated Token.io’s infrastructure to enable credit card payments directly from external bank accounts. This A2A payment method offers a smoother alternative to direct debits or manual transfers, eliminating the need for manual data input and utilising biometric Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) for secure mobile payments.