The extension, signed in June 2007, covers all paper-related payment transactions for two additional years through December 31, 2012.

"Extending and strengthening our relationship with UPSS allows us to continue to benefit from shared utility resources in an outsourcing arrangement that provides scale for added efficiencies, lower costs, and greater process optimization," said Thea van Bommel at Rabobank. "Unisys is an important partner since its investments in technology and innovative new services help Rabobank to stay focused on our core business and stay ahead in an ever-changing payments world."

UPSS, a subsidiary of Unisys Corporation, automates giro (paper-based, check-like payments) processing and money transfer forms for Rabobank and other clients. UPSS now processes more than 100 million paper-based payment transactions a year for European banks and has a market share of approximately 50 percent in the Netherlands.

Rabobank's contract extension and new security services come as UPSS and Unisys continue to expand payment operations and solutions for financial institutions around the world. Unisys recently launched its Open Payments Platform and other payment solutions, for example, and secured a significant related engagement in May in the United States. UPSS also signed additional contracts with other European banks over the past few months.

"Unisys looks at common business processes across an entire enterprise to help financial institutions better manage payments and more easily plan for the impact of global epayments trends and initiatives that will significantly affect their business," said Rob Fopma, managing director of UPSS. "With the introduction of fraud detection and prevention solutions, and offerings related to SEPA - the Single European Payment Area - and other new services, UPSS more and more is seen as a partner that can bring added value to a bank's business."