Normative context
The EU directive 2007/64 concerning Payment Services (Payment Services Directive – PSD), ratified and published by EC on 5th December 2007, will have to be implemented by member states before 1st November 2009.
The PSD affects a wide portfolio of payment instruments, addressed both to corporate and retail customers. The goals of the directive are:
- To increase the user’s protection improving transparency of conditions and information accessibility
- To standardize rights, obligations and information requirements addressed both to users and to payment services suppliers
- To improve efficiency of services for final customers (e.g. reduction of the transactions execution times)
- To improve the market dynamics (e.g. price pressure, opening to new market players)
The PSD will have a strong impact on banking information systems, which have already been subject to big changes. The current scenario requires a constant development of the applications in use, whose lifetime is becoming shorter and shorter. The procedure for Italian credit transfers “Bonifici Italia”, which decommissioning is foreseen before 2012 because of SEPA introduction, is good example of that.
A new role for banks
According to this context, banks will have to face the change, assuring primarily the compliance to the PSD.
In order to attain PSD compliance, planning adjustments to the information systems in use (developed according to the inter-banking regulations) is probably not the best implementation model; in the new competitive context banks will have to plan further investments to cover the revenue reduction forecast and to seize the development opportunities emerging from the new scenario.
VTPie Multi-currency Credit Transfers
Value Team Finance offers banks "VTPie Multi-currency Credit Transfers", an innovative solution that enables the overcoming of the technology constraints imposed by current systems - based on often obsolete technologies.
VTPie Multi-currency Credit Transfer was developed on Java technology and "SOA" logics. Being PSD compliant, its adoption avoids to perform adjustments on applications that will be decommissioned in short time(e.g.: Italy Credit Transfers by 2012).
The solution is designed in order to provide a unique platform for the integrated management of payments , which is disconnected from the specific logics of technical forms and channels, with the aim of:
- Reducing operating costs (running cost) typical of mainframe-based solutions
- Enabling any process of simplification and optimization of operative models (flexibility of back and front end instruments)
- Ensuring the delivery of services under the new execution times (real time transaction processing)
- Reducing the time to market and costs of implementation for new functions enabling the offer of value added services (by service oriented architecture)
- Making the integration with innovative channels of collection easier (e.g. mobile, internet)
- Optimizing the set of applications (a single procedure to manage every type of Credit Transfer)
- Making the integration with legacy systems of the bank easier, thanks to the architecture and VTPie Kernel that enable decoupling the business process from specificities of banking systems.
Value Team Finance is available to estimate with interested banks the real impact (costs / benefits) arising from the adoption of the VTPie Multi-Currency Credit Transfers module, in consistent time for the PSD compliance deadline.