The new Unisys solutions address credit and debit changes needed as a result of the Single European Payments Area (SEPA), a sweeping set of pending regulations facing the European banking community.

Unisys has expanded its partnership with Clear2Pay to offer additional solutions that take advantage of the combined flexibility of Clear2Pay's Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) functionality and the Unisys platform. The new solution suite addresses SEPA rules and pending deadlines for direct debit and credit transfer, and also includes a component for electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP).

In addition, Unisys is partnering with Sterci to provide its Stelink messaging platform, a solution that helps banks modernize aging financial messaging systems and address new rules from global standards-setters like the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Together, Unisys and Sterci offer Stelink as a replacement solution to modernize aging SWIFT messaging systems, and meet new volume and SWIFT requirements regarding FileAct and InterAct XML ISO20022 processing. Unisys will integrate the Sterci Stelink solution with the Unisys Open Payments Platform to deliver payment processing in a SOA environment, offering a best-in-class, high volume payment and messaging solution. The solution leverages the two providers' more than 25 years of experience in delivering high volume SWIFTNet messaging solutions.

"Whether it's SEPA, SWIFT, EBPP or another one of the many industry challenges…perhaps the only constant in payments today is change," said Curt Girod, president of the global financial services practice at Unisys. "As a world leader in providing strategic, end-to-end payment solutions, Unisys allows financial institutions to quickly respond to change and helps them better secure their business operations. By looking at payments across the entire enterprise, Unisys offers a more integrated, flexible road map for the future, with new and innovative strategies to help banks confront the ever-evolving payments landscape."

Modelling Tools and Services for Payment Strategy

To help banks determine their payment modernization strategy, Unisys uses modelling and business intelligence tools. The business blueprint modelling process, combined with Unisys expertise in payments consulting, gives banks more visibility into the potential future impacts of SEPA, SWIFT modernization and other issues so they can better prepare for the complexity of these changes. Unisys helps banks mitigate risk, document structured business requirements, define a transformation roadmap, and manage ongoing modernization projects.

The Unisys Open Payment Platform is part of a family of solutions that provide banks with flexibility in transforming their operations, incrementally modernizing legacy payment systems, and creating new products while reducing IT complexity and overall cost of maintenance. Unisys also offers SOA-based remote capture devices and a companion web-based processing environment, enterprise servers, as well as business process outsourcing services (BPO) in check and remittance processing, imaging and epayments.

Unisys also has expanded the operations of its European payments BPO utility to provide a cost-effective way for banks to meet SEPA requirements for secure mandate management and related Euro Zone payments issues.