Jointly, Elavon and Santander's strategy is to become one of the leading players in the UK acquiring market. The new alliance will enable Santander to leverage Elavon's end-to-end control of the processing relationship; from risk and underwriting, to processing, funding and all customer support functions, whilst Elavon will dramatically increase their presence in the UK market by partnering with one of the most respected and fastest growing institutions in the UK.

"Santander aims to become the best commercial bank in the UK. This new alliance further enhances our portfolio of market leading current account and money transmission services for new and existing customers and demonstrates our commitment to supporting UK business during these challenging times. Through the new Santander and Elavon alliance, UK businesses can benefit from a comprehensive card processing system tailored to their specific needs with the added benefits of dynamic currency conversion and online account management," said Steve Pateman, Head of Corporate and Commercial Banking, Santander.

"Elavon's alliance model has been an integral part of our success in the United States for almost 20 years, and we're excited to leverage the reputation and reach of Santander as we expand in Europe," said Stuart C. Harvey, Jr., CEO of Elavon.

The alliance will benefit Santander's corporate and business customers, who, under the new agreement, will gain access to Elavon's robust and secure international processing platform, which features cross border and multi-currency processing, eliminating the need for pan-European clients to contract with multiple processors, while providing one point of service for all processing and customer support.