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(Bloomberg) -- Banco Santander SA plans to switch the computer systems in its main markets, a key test for a technology it expects to make it faster and more efficient.

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The bank is about to move its most crucial computing and data processes in Spain, Mexico and Brazil to a platform known as Gravity, Chief Operating and Technology Officer Dirk Marzluf said in an interview in Madrid. The step is expected to add to cost savings on the back of Gravity that have already reached €150 million ($158 million) per year, Marzluf said.

Santander’s operations in the three countries contributed about two thirds to overall profit in the first nine months of the year.

The new technology is “cheap”and “it runs perfectly,” Marzluf said. “The payback period is between two and three years” compared with 10 to 20 years for older banking platforms, he said.

Santander has been rolling out Gravity for more than two years as part of an effort under Chairman Ana Botin to centralize systems, cut costs and speed up the bank’s processes. The lender developed the software internally and then signed a deal with Google that allows the US tech firm to sell a technology called Dual Run to other banks, earning Santander some extra money.

Modernizing Systems

The IT overhaul puts Santander in line with several other major European lenders seeking to modernize systems that can date back decades and consist of disparate components, especially if the banks have grown through acquisitions. While the projects are sometimes unavoidable to keep up with rising demands on bank IT, they also tend to be expensive and risk angering stakeholders if they go off track.

A big data transfer at Deutsche Bank AG last year caused severe service issues for many of the lender’s clients, costing Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing parts of his bonus. Similarly, the head of Banco Sabadell SA’s UK unit repeatedly apologized in 2018 after a bungled roll-out of a new computer system left hundreds of thousands of customers unable to access services.

Santander’s Marzluf said Gravity has already been implemented successfully in the UK and US where regulators “are very demanding. No problems emerged in the process, he said.

Gravity consumes “less than 5% of our total IT spend,” Marzluf said, without specifying the absolute amount.

Santander last year spent €2.5 billion on technology and systems, representing the second biggest source of expenses after staff. Total savings since 2022 from the bank’s various IT projects including Gravity reached €378 million in the third quarter, according to an earnings presentation.