Tsys today announced that it has been chosen by Cedacri, Italy's leading provider of outsourcing services to the banking industry, to provide card and payments services to Cedacri's clients.
Cedacri will utilize TSYS' fully outsourced processing solution, TS Prime.
The agreement marks TSYS' entry into the Italian market while also providing full connectivity to the domestic bank network and local clearing houses. This relationship aligns with TSYS' strategy to expand its capabilities across Europe as an established pan-European processor.
"Cedacri was looking for a true partner to help offer our banking clients issuing services and card processing services," said Fabio De Ferrari, General Manager of Cedacri. "TSYS have the right solution with TS Prime, strong experience across Europe and an interest to invest and develop together in the Italian market, enabling growth for our clients."
"The payments environment in Italy is changing, with banks looking for alternatives to the traditional in-country processors," said Bob Evans, group executive of TSYS International. "Italy is a key European market and this partnership with Cedacri provides a great foundation for TSYS to develop its long term presence in this region."
Italy is the seventh largest card market in Europe, with 70 million cards (excluding prepaid) in circulation. It is also the largest market in Europe for prepaid cards, with 8.2 million cards in circulation, accounting for 9 percent of the total cards in the country.(1)
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed but include the complete, end-to-end card processing solution for consumer, commercial and prepaid cards, as well as 3D Secure services and TSYS fraud solutions.
(1)"Paymet Cards Western Europe 2010," Retail Banking Research