Ixaris, an innovator in global electronic payments, today announced that it has expanded its presence in the United States to enable financial institutions and developers to leverage and profit from the 'open payments' revolution.
Extending Ixaris' record as Europe's most successful virtual card program, Ixaris has set up an office in Seattle, Washington and appointed Mike Anderson as Director for North America. With a long history of partnering with leading global payment networks such as Visa, MasterCard and Swift, Ixaris will unveil an open loop payment platform at FinovateFall 2010 that will allow financial institutions to compete with proprietary networks.
According to recent estimates by McKinsey, payment services generate worldwide revenues of more than $900 billion each year. Representing 25 to 30 percent of total bank revenues, payment services provide a steady income stream for financial institutions even in these challenging economic times. With the rise of alternative payment solutions from companies like PayPal, IP Commerce and Amazon, mainstream financial services providers, hampered by legacy systems as well as operational and regulatory challenges, are facing increased pressure to bring new products to market. The development community on the other hand is demanding flexible payment systems that give developers the ability to integrate payments into their applications.
"Ixaris' expansion into North America presents a tremendous opportunity for both financial institutions and the development community," said Alex Mifsud, Ixaris CEO. "Built on a proven platform that combines our technology, operating expertise and integrated banking relationships, the Ixaris solution provides all the necessary services to enable financial institutions to reach out to businesses, developers and entrepreneurs who have transformed their respective sectors."
The Ixaris payment platform, Ixaris Opn (pronounced 'open'), debuting at FinovateFall 2010, opens the door to new payment services and revenue streams by greatly reducing the cost, complexity and time needed to bring new payment applications to market. Financial institutions are provided a publicly-accessible application development and operating platform, avoiding cumbersome integration with their own IT systems, and thereby freeing them to bring new payment services to market. The development community benefits from an application platform that enables businesses and entrepreneurs to innovate in the same way the iPhone AppStore opened up 3G networks to developers.
"We believe Mike Anderson will be a strong addition to the Ixaris team," stated Alex Mifsud, Ixaris CEO. "Mike's banking and technology industry expertise will enable us to further tap into the payment needs of the North American market, and then meet those needs with the innovative new products and services it demands."