Voca says it is working with BEA, Sun and Oracle to develop a new standards-based payments engine to replace its existing mainframe-based payments infrastructure which lacks the scalability and functionality demanded by Sepa - the EU directive aimed at driving down cross-border payment transaction costs by 2008.

BEA's WebLogic Server 8.1 will underpin the new system, which will be able to handle the current five billion transactions Voca manages each year, as well as the typical payment and clearing services volumes demanded by Sepa.

Delivering multi-currency capability and multi-scheme processing, BEA says the infrastructure gives Voca the potential to support Sepa compliant schemes, a choice of settlement options, interoperability and a range of value added services.

Chris Dunne, commercial business manager, Voca, says the BEA WebLogic Server 8.1 is designed to simplify and unify the underlying systems framework while also providing interoperability, reliability, watertight security and compliance.

"We needed a flexible, generic and modular payments infrastructure. One that comprised reusable common elements of hardware, network and software. And one that delivered an industry-wide generic security model," adds Dunne.

Recent research released by Voca shows that the introduction of Sepa has risen to the top of the agenda for payments professionals, with integration and delivery issues uppermost in participant's minds.