S1 Corporation (Nasdaq: SONE), a leading global provider of integrated front-office applications for the financial services industry, today announced that KBC Bank & Insurance Group is live with S1 Corporate Banking in S1's state-of-the-art data center in Norcross, Ga.
KBC is the first major European financial institution to host its online banking services in S1's U.S. Data Center. KBC is deploying S1 Corporate Banking in more than eight countries and over eight languages to standardize its corporate electronic banking operations, including information reporting, payments and collections, throughout the KBC Group. KBC has launched S1 Corporate Banking in Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, France, Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic. The online application will be introduced later in Poland and the U.S.
One of the top three financial institutions in Belgium and a top 30 financial institution in Europe with EUR 225 billion in assets, KBC has a significant corporate client user base that initiates more than half a million payments per month across Europe. The solution, which KBC calls W1SE, enables the bank to offer a single solution across its expanding client base. In addition, its clients gain many customized capabilities, including smart card-based security, localized domestic European and cross-border payments, prior and intra-day balance and transaction reporting, and file exchange services.
"With extensive expertise in the corporate banking area, S1 is the provider that will enable KBC to deliver superior online banking functionality to our growing international corporate customer base," said Luc Gijsens, Global Head Corporate Banking at KBC. "At the same time, with the support of a state-of-the-art data center S1 is helping us manage our total cost of ownership and providing the security measures to meet our specific requirements."
S1 Corporate Banking is a proven, reliable solution for delivering traditional online cash management and high- and low-value payment and collection transactions. The solution's multi-lingual and multi-currency capabilities enable KBC to perform cash management functions across Europe and on a global basis. The Corporate Banking solution offers internationally active corporate customers online banking services with support for all common international and local, country-specific standards, an advanced reporting tool, and a wide range of customizable reports.
In addition to selecting S1's functionally rich solutions, a growing number of leading institutions are deciding to host the applications at the company's data center - the only data center dedicated exclusively to accommodating the unique needs of integrated front-office solutions for the financial services industry. As a result, S1 currently hosts applications used by millions of end users and hundreds of financial institutions.
With more than seven years of experience in operating secure data centers; S1 keeps financial institutions' online applications up and running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days every year. Within one of the most advanced operating environments, S1 has built comprehensive network infrastructures coupled with S1's business risk management and disaster recovery services to ensure resilient, uninterrupted service delivery.
"The successful implementation of S1 Corporate Banking for KBC in our U.S. data center is a major milestone for S1," said Jaime Ellertson, CEO at S1 Corporation. "The fact that we can support the complex needs of a global financial institution of KBC's scale is a strong validation that S1 Corporate Banking and our Managed Hosting Services can meet the complex challenges of even the largest international clients."