Fundtech and Microsoft Introduce SEPA Integration Suite to Consolidate SEPA and Legacy Payments

Adds complete SEPA transaction processing to existing payments infrastructure centralizing payment services with minimal disruption and risk

HONG KONG, Sep 14, 2009 -PIN Payments News Blog- Fundtech Ltd. (NASDAQ: FNDT), a market leader in global transaction banking solutions, and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) today announced the introduction of the SEPA Integration Suite, a new suite of SOA (service-oriented architecture) services that adds complete SEPA transaction processing to a bank’s existing payments infrastructure with minimal disruption and risk. By leveraging their existing payments infrastructure, banks will save time and money adding transaction processing capabilities for both SEPA Credit Transfers (SCT) and SEPA Direct Debits (SDD). Corporate clients will benefit by being able to send a single stream of payments, in various formats, to a centralized payment service, streamlining their accounts payable operations while improving multi-country cash management visibility.



SEPA Direct Debit and Credit Transfers are a key issue in the development of payment systems in Europe, and the SEPA Integration Suite will be the first SEPA payments solution built entirely on the Microsoft platform. The infrastructure uses Microsoft’s cost-effective and reliable Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2008, and Microsoft BizTalk Server 2009, a widely deployed and powerful integration, messaging and business activity monitoring solution. Its web-enabled user interface is built with Microsoft Silverlight technology, offering great flexibility and customization capabilities.



The SEPA Integration Suite supports multi-country deployments, and offers extensive mandate management functionality. Its robust middleware transforms, organizes and routes transactions between legacy and SEPA formats using ISO 20022 XML messaging standards.



"SEPA has been the priority issue for European Payments for years now, but it seems likely that a significant number of banks will still miss the November 2009 deadline for SDD”, said Gareth Lodge, Regional Research Director at TowerGroup. “As a result banks not only have to be compliant but Fundtech Corporation 30 Montgomery Street, Fifth Floor, Jersey City, NJ 07302, USA Tel: +1-201-946-1100 www.fundtech.com

have solutions that are as scalable and resilient as those for legacy payments. Standards-based integration solutions will allow banks to leverage as much of their existing systems as possible to minimize both cost but also risk."



“Fundtech and Microsoft are offering the market an affordable and quickly implemented solution that addresses the eurozone harmonization dilemma related to SEPA payments. By leveraging existing payments infrastructure, banks using SEPA Integration Suite will be able to meet the SDD deadline while minimizing the expense of adding this required capability,” said Dieter Prang, Managing Director, Fundtech GmbH.



“Our alliance with Fundtech substantially expands our partner ecosystem for payments by helping our banking clients meet the imperatives of cost-cutting and innovation in these challenging economic times,” said Susan Hauser, vice president, Worldwide Financial Services, Microsoft. “Fundtech’s commitment to Microsoft’s banking and payments solutions leverages our familiar mission-critical enterprise platforms, including Microsoft BizTalk Server with the BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT as the payments messaging infrastructure — a solution that has been certified SWIFTReady over the past six years.”



###



About Fundtech



Fundtech (NASDAQ: FNDT), was founded in 1993, and is a leading provider of software and services to banks of all sizes around the world. Payments systems include wire transfers, ACH origination, cross-border payments and remittance. Cash management systems are designed for large corporate through small business clients. Fundtech operates the world’s largest SWIFT service bureau. We offer an extensive line of financial supply chain applications including electronic invoice presentment and supply chain financing. And we are the leading provider of CLS systems to the world’s largest banks. More than 1,000 clients throughout the world rely on Fundtech solutions to improve operational efficiency and provide greater competitiveness through innovative business-to-business services. For more information, visit www.fundtech.com.



About Microsoft in Financial Services



Microsoft’s Financial Services Group provides software that helps financial firms transform the customer, employee and operations experience so they can maximize opportunities for increased market share and profitability. Microsoft software helps empower people and IT staff within financial firms — and across key focus areas such as advisor platforms, channel renewal, insurance value chain, enterprise risk management and compliance, and payments. Through a combination of Microsoft- and partner-provided solutions, customers enable their employees to turn data into insight, transform ideas into action and turn change into opportunity. More information about Microsoft’s Financial Services Group can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/financialservices.



About Microsoft



Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.



Forward Looking Statements:



This news release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, projections of revenues, income or loss, capital expenditures, plans for growth and future operations, competition and regulation. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted or quantified. When used in this Release, the words, "estimates," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "plans," "intends," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by or underlying the forward-looking statements. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed or identified from time to time in Fundtech's public filings, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008, including general economic and market conditions, changes in regulations and taxes and changes in competition in pricing environment. Undo reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which are applicable only as of the date hereof. Fundtech undertakes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this Release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.



Corporate Press Contacts



Microsoft

Wendy Grover

+1 425 705 7609

Fundtech

George Ravich – Fundtech Ltd.

+1 201 215 6530

george.ravich@fundtech.com

Press Agency Contacts:

Metia

Chanda Gathani

+44 795 11 63615

chanda.gathani@metia.com

Metia (APAC)

Jenny White

+65 6372 5286

jenny.white@metia.com

Brodeur India:

Praveen Nagda

+91 20 26154540

pnagda@brodeurindia.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Twelve Canadian Companies To Pay More Than $431,000 In Damages For Unlicensed Software Use (newswire.ca)