FIS, one of the world's largest providers of banking and payments technology, today announced that Luottokunta has gone live with the FIS IST/Merchant Accounting & Settlement solution, to support its expansion drive to become the leading card payment service company in the Baltic Sea Region.
"Luottokunta is already Finland's largest card payment services company but we are seeking new customers in the banking, merchant and corporate sectors - and also to expand our operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries. We support the global growth efforts of customers by developing and providing new service solutions across geographic boundaries and it is essential that we have in place the very best software and IT infrastructure, as is the case with FIS' IST solution set," said Heikki Kapanen, chief executive officer, Luottokunta.
"The FIS enterprise payment solutions are outstanding in terms of flexibility and scalability, allowing them to be customized extensively to meet the specific needs and complexities of our business operation," adds Kapanen.
Luottokunta has a strong long-term partnership with FIS going back to 2002, during which the company has become one of the most comprehensive users of FIS systems. In addition to FIS IST/Merchant Accounting & Settlement, Luottokunta also utilizes FIS IST/Clearing and FIS IST®/Switch.
It is anticipated that these systems will handle, in total, upwards of 2.3 billion transactions a year by 2011, as Luottokunta's lines of business continue to go live and volumes increase.
FIS' expert teams are collaborating closely on a phased roll-out of the systems with Luottokunta's IT staff, using a sophisticated FIS model combining on-shore, near-shore and off-shore resources.
"This is a significant commitment, drawing on FIS staffing contributions and support services from around the globe. Currently, there are more than four dozen FIS team members working in-country, and from Canada and India, to ensure smooth integration with Luottokunta's corporate IT infrastructure," commented Mark Davey, executive vice president, FIS International business. "It is an excellent testament to the mutual benefit of both Luottokunta and FIS of working together in a strategic long-term partnership built over the last seven years."
FIS IST/Merchant Accounting & Settlement enables integration of payment transaction processing with back-office accounting and general ledger systems, while FIS IST®/Clearing ensures that authorized payments are credited to merchant accounts, and cardholder accounts are debited accordingly. FIS IST/Switch is an open systems payment engine that handles payment authorization processing,