Citi has developed a service for clearing and settlement, CitiDirect White Label, which allows other financial institutions to deliver complex clearing and settlement services leveraging Citi’s technologies and investment without having to make the expenditure themselves. This was delivered to the Honduran Central Bank for example, with 100 million transactions valued at more than $23,000bn for 36,000 institutions in 2006. The judges felt that offering this service as a pure white label to smaller banks is a good solution to complex clearing and settlement requirements.
Faster Payments Innovation Winner:
OneVu with its online billing service
As faster payments relates particularly to UK law, the entry from OneVu for its online billing service demonstrated a real capability in this area. OneVu is a joint venture between Voca and Checkfree Corporation. Formed in 2004, it offers a white labelled service that enables banks to offer their customers a bill table of all their billings and drill down into a summary for each bill, then connect to the bill detail directly at the biller’s website without requiring a further login. The service went live with the first client, Lloyds TSB, in November 2006. It is seen as a core part of improving banks’ services in the UK, as well as part of the faster payments process, as customers will be able to see their bills being paid in real time.
Miles Quitmann, commercial director at OneVu, says: “The OneVu service effectively joins up the journey from bill presentment to payment from one secure, convenient location. It will allow consumers the option of choosing faster payment methods, giving them unparalleled control over their finances.
“Looking forward, OneVu’s unique position as an extension of the online bank, and its strong relationships with both billers and consumers, means that it is perfectly placed to deliver a broad range of consumer services that will also benefit from faster payments.”
New Payment Systems Innovation Winner:
Vodafone-Citi Global Remittances Partnership
One of the biggest innovations was announced in late 2006 when Vodafone and Citi combined their efforts to offer remittances via mobile telephones. As a pure SMS-based capability, which requires no software on the handset, the solution provides the ability for many of the world’s poorest people to exchange funds via their telephone rather than through a bank. The service was launched in Kenya and is being expanded across Europe and Asia. This was deemed a great project by the judges, and fully warranted recognition as new payment systems technology of the year.
Supply Chain Technology Innovation Winner:
ABN AMRO with Max Trad Financial Institution Dashboard
ABN AMRO’s Max Trad Financial Institution Dashboard is an enhancement of its overall trade finance outsourcing services. It is provided to address ABN AMRO’s clients’ concerns over loss of control when outsourcing by providing them with a secure, online, comprehensive management and operational information tool. The judges liked this tool as an easy way for banks to visualise the performance of their trade finance product mix and transactions at the touch of a button.
Trade Finance Technology Innovation Winner:
Citi with Open Account Trade Solution
Citi’s solution wins this award on the basis of its ability to straddle across letters of credit (LC) and open account trade financing. The service facilitates transaction processing without the administrative burden of having to move from LCs to open account trading. Using Citi’s product, importers can outsource document inspection and accounts payable to the bank.
Cash Management/ Treasury Technology Innovation Winner:
Tata Consultancy Services with QUARTZ Payment Product
Tata Consultancy Services’s QUARTZ Payment Product has been developed to support wholesale payments and was extended during 2006 to be TARGET2 compliant and is being readied for Sepa. The judges were impressed that the solution has been selected by one of Europe’s largest banks, which was challenged by multiple legacy systems on separate architectures operating in silo functions and unable to meet the challenges of Europe’s future. The bank selected Tata to transition towards TARGET2 and SEPA and, for this reason, the judges give QUARTZ the cash management product of the year award.
Commended: SunGard with its Real Time Liquidity Management Solution. SunGard has developed its solution on the STeP platform, which is commended for its ability to gather real-time balances and transactions across multiple messaging and third-party infrastructures. The judges felt it to be a good solution, albeit one that has yet to prove its take-up in the marketplace, and would expect it to be a stronger awards entry in future years.
