Santander Doubles Down on Transforming Bank Branches into Coworking Cafés Worldwide
Europe’s biggest bank by market capitalization, Banco Santander, is accelerating the transformation of its global branch network by converting traditional retail locations into Work Cafés—spaces that combine banking services, coworking areas, and café environments.
As of 2024, Santander operates 239 Work Cafés across its international network, including 92 in Spain, with others located in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The model began in Chile in 2016 and is expanding rapidly. Elsewhere in Europe, so far, eight Work Cafés are now open in Poland and five in the UK, where more are expected amid broader structural changes.
This hybrid concept is central to the bank’s response to shifting customer expectations and the continued rise in digital banking usage.
The move comes along with Santander closing traditional branches. In the UK, the bank will shut down 95 of its 444 branches. According to the bank, these moves are driven by a sharp rise in digital transactions, which have increased 63% since 2019, while in-branch transactions have declined by 61%.
The Work Café model, explains the bank, is part of a broader shift toward multi-use banking spaces, aimed at fostering customer engagement and flexibility. These locations are open to both clients and non-clients, offering access to high-speed Wi-Fi, meeting rooms, coworking desks, event spaces, and full banking support. Each site is supported by staff members including a community manager, like in a regular coworking space, who oversees local programming, events, and user experience.
In Spain, to further integrate this model, Santander recently launched workcafe.es, a digital platform where users can book coworking space, register for events, and manage appointments with their banking advisor. The site also features both public content and a private area for registered users, blending online access with in-person interaction.
According to the Spanish bank, the Work Café approach allows the bank to reduce physical infrastructure while maintaining customer service points and creating new engagement channels that support both personal and professional needs. The bank reports strong synergies between its financial services and coworking offerings, particularly in university areas and city centers.
Pic source: Santander WorkCafé website
