Banco de Espana is using Microsoft BizTalk integration technology to interface its Target2-related business applications with the European Central Bank’s proposed new wholesale payments platform.
The Banco de España Target2 integration project focuses on the development of three key elements: an enterprise application infrastructure for the new ECB system; a Target2 information management system application that will validate, transform, enrich and route payment messages between the RTGS system and Banco de España via Swift; and a management console. The management console will provide auditing, logging and tracing capabilities, allowing Banco de España staff to detect and correct erroneous large-value euro payment transactions quickly and efficiently.
To complete the project, the bank will use Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004, Microsoft BizTalk Accelerator for Swift, BizTalk Adapter for MQ Series, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
Luis Campillo, head of the credit institution payment and settlement services unit at the information systems department of Banco de España, says: "We have worked successfully with Microsoft and Microsoft Consulting Services on a variety of projects over the last five years. When it came to evaluating solutions for our Target2 integration project, we chose a Microsoft BizTalk Server and BizTalk Accelerator for Swift-based system, as it offers the high performance and easy integration we require without the additional administration and maintenance costs that would have been incurred by selecting one of the other available solutions."
Banco de España plans to migrate fully to Target2 for the settlement of large-value euro payments by 2007.