As part of the European Union's broad initiative to encourage cross-border trade among member states, which includes more closely aligning the fee structure for domestic and cross-border payments up to EUR 50,000, the EPC has mandated that all cross-border payments contain Bank Identifier Codes (BIC) and International Bank Account Numbers (IBAN) or be subject to bank repair fees. Beginning in 2007, however, banks will have the ability to reject any payments from corporate clients that do not include the correct BIC and IBAN data.

Bottomline's versatile BIC and IBAN Validation solutions provide corporate users with the tools necessary to efficiently capture, maintain and validate the appropriate BIC and IBAN information prior to submitting payments to their banking partners. By increasing their ability to comply with SEPA guidelines, corporate clients can not only avoid unnecessary bank charges, but reduce payment costs and improve error and query rates.

"The advent of SEPA represents an important cost-saving opportunity for all businesses, provided they possess the capabilities necessary to submit payments with the appropriate BIC and IBAN numbers," said Nigel Savory, Managing Director, Bottomline Technologies Europe. "Regardless of how a business's payments criss-cross the continent, Bottomline's innovative services for BIC and IBAN validation enable our customers to quickly profit from the full scope of benefits intended by this significant regulation."

Bottomline's BIC and IBAN validation solutions include BankScan International, a combined software module and database, easily deployed on a distributed network to automatically or manually check BIC and IBAN information, and the Validate IBAN Service, which provides customers with an outsourced option for gathering missing BIC and IBAN codes for their vendors. The versatility of these new offerings allows customers to take advantage of the component best suited to meet their short- and long-term needs.