Euromoney awards Santander for its efforts to support Ukrainian refugees
Euromoney, prestigious international financial magazine, has named Santander Central & Eastern Europe’s Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility at the magazine’s 2022 Awards for Excellence in recognition for the bank’s efforts to support the humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine.
Since the start of the war, Santander Bank Polska has been working with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to develop and implement a service that provides refugees with access to cash when they arrive in the country to help them rebuild their lives. More than 222,568 refugees have now registered to use the scheme based on Polish system called BLIK in the almost five months since it began operating.
The UNHCR Cash Assistance programme was established, based on the BLIK cheque system – a unique nine-digit code that can be used to withdraw cash from an ATM, without the need for a payment card, bank account or smartphone banking app. Nearly 222,560 refugees have registered for the scheme in the five months since it began operating.
We stand ready to support any relief efforts related to the situation of the millions of refugees from Ukraine. We are constantly increasing our engagement also because the challenges and needs are evolving. I am proud of all our individual activities as well as those carried out together with our partners, such as the UNHCR cash assistance programme. The BLIK cash assistance project clearly shows that we have entered a new level of effectiveness in helping those in need. We are pleased that the effects of our actions have been recognised. However, I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise that aid activities are still needed, and therefore I appeal for further involvement in helping Ukraine and its citizens who had to flee their country.
Since the first days of the war, the bank has suspended account and card fees for Ukrainian citizens, as well as provided free use of ATMs and permanent access to cash in branches and via ATMs. In addition, it also waived fees for incoming transfers to and from Ukraine. Furthermore, Santander Bank Polska also offers customer service in Ukrainian on its call centre, online and mobile banking, as well as at 80 per cent of its ATMs.
In addition, the bank, together with the Santander Foundation, organised a charity action „We Will Double Your Impact” in aid of Ukraine. Every zloty donated was doubled by the bank to the amount of PLN 1.5 million. Thus, it was possible to raise PLN 4.25 million and 26,500 people took part in the fundraiser. The money from the collection was donated to organisations coordinating aid for people affected by the war in Ukraine: the Polish Humanitarian Action, Unicef and the Polish Red Cross. A donation was also made to the city of Przemyśl.
Our teams are constantly striving to improve the way we serve our customers, and I am delighted that Euromoney has acknowledged their efforts with these awards. I am especially proud this year of the work our teams have done to support the humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine, which is making a real difference for hundreds of thousands of refugees. I want to congratulate everyone for a remarkable job and thank Euromoney for this distinction.
World’s Best Bank for Financial Inclusion
Euromoney also named Santander the “World’s best bank for Financial Inclusion” for the second year running, recognising Santander’s programmes in Latin America, Europe and the US to financially empower individuals and entrepreneurs.
Only between 2019 and 2021, Santander has financially empowered 7.5 million people and the bank has a commitment to empower 10 million people by 2025.
Western Europe’s Best Bank and Best Bank for SMEs
Santander also received the “Best Bank” in Western Europe title in recognition of the support the bank continues to provide its customers in the region. Moreover, the magazine acknowledged Santander’s efforts to help some two million SMEs prosper across Western Europe, naming it “Best Bank for SMEs” in the region. It also named Santander “Best Bank” in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, and “Best Investment Bank” in Spain.
