"ACE was willing to meet all our complex requirements across our various Caisse Regionales (regional banks), replacing a complicated and cumbersome routing system while achieving STP rates in excess of 98%," said Michel Azard, Head of IT Project Management at Credit Agricole.

Credit Agricole needed a solution that would overcome an existing complex artificial intelligence based routing system, support a drive to improve customer service throughout the banking system, and prepare for regulatory changes in cross-border bank payments and liquidity management driven by the EU's SEPA and ECB's TARGET2 initiatives. STP rates within the central processing division were previously running at 90%, while message traffic rose from 7,000 to 18,000 daily.

Credit Agricole opted for ACE Software Solutions's STP Enhancer(TM) , STP Analyser(TM) and EAI Designer.(TM)

"We needed a proven, scalable and interoperable technology that will meet the demands of this rapidly changing operational, commercial and regulatory environment," said Azard. "ACE was co-operative and accommodative, incorporating all our business and technical requirements, while offering pro-active solutions to solve our business issues."

"We were very confident in ACE Software's ability, particularly with regard to resolving issues with our existing artificial intelligence routing technology, because ACE's STP Toolkit(TM) had been running alongside it for eight years," according to Michel Azard.

"Credit Agricole's successful implementation is testament to the value of long-term relationships in banking technology, and the flexibility of ACE Software's product range in dealing with very complex messaging environments. In addition, this platform enables our continued collaboration as the bank prepares to meet the multiple challenges of SEPA and TARGET2," said ACE Software CEO Parth Desai.