The pair say they will work together to provide cash management, Swift connectivity and value added services to corporates.

The offering relies on Bottomline's Swift Access Service, connecting BNP Paribas's corporates to the global banking network that supports all classifications of inbound and outbound messages, standards and formats.

Yann Leray, head, cash management, BNP Paribas UK, says: "We are pleased to announce the partnership with Bottomline Technologies in the UK and Ireland; it brings together two leading providers with complementary products and skill sets."

Meanwhile, another major European financial institution, Deutsche Bank, has moved to boost its Swift connectivity services for corporate customers. Around 75 staff in Global Transaction Banking, IT and Operations have been receiving training over the summer from the financial messaging outfit as "Swift for Corporate Specialists".

The bank says it is also working closely with ERP vendors such as SAP to create "plug and play" bank connectivity from corporates' internal systems, which reduces the implementation lead times and the cost associated with the integration of disparate systems.

David Watson, head, client access, Global Transaction Banking, Deutsche Bank, says: "Swift for Corporates is an important access channel for clients that we continue to support through the delivery of end-to-end proven solutions that offer integration with the vendors of our clients. We are partnering with targeted system vendors and integrators to ensure that we can leverage standard formats such as XML ISO 20022 to provide for superior automation of financial processes."