NOMAD Processing Services is an innovative solution, specifically developed for building societies to provide an end-to-end processing service for managing debit, credit and prepaid cards.
The solution is being showcased at the annual Building Society Association conference, in Harrogate, alongside Newcastle Strategic Solutions – the IT arm of Newcastle Building Society, one of the recent building societies to become a member of NOMAD Processing Services.
The service from leading card payment solutions provider, NOMAD Software, will enable building society's who, historically, were deterred from issuing cards due to the complexity and high costs associated with running an in-house card department, to issue the entire range of MasterCard products for the first time.
John Yeomans, Chief Executive, NOMAD Software, stated: "In an increasingly competitive world, all institutions need the option to add a card to product definitions. This capability will enable them to raise brand awareness, increase customer retention as well as attract new customers."
He added: "In addition to improved customer attraction and retention, bottom line improvements can be gained by introducing cards. As the entire service is managed by the NOMAD team, internal IT and resource costs are reduced and the deployment optimised."
NOMAD Processing Services offers a low risk, economic, entry mechanism for building societies to offer a range of card products, including debit, prepaid, charge and credit, to their customers. These cards can either be attached to a variety of account products including for instance, online, instant access and off-set mortgages, or in the case of prepaid and credit cards as stand-alone products. These cards can be used for purchases and cash withdrawals both at home and abroad.
The standard service from NOMAD Processing Services enables a member to issue the MasterCard suite of card products to their customers, processing and authorising transactions 24 by 7, with regular updates back to the Society's core system. Internal costs are minimised as no major infrastructure is required at the member's site save for standard Web browsers with which to access NOMAD Software's CORTEX card management software.
Colin Greaves, General Manager, Newcastle Building Society, stated: "This outsourced model has ensured that Newcastle Building Society can provide this enhanced service for its members at a reduced risk. Not only are the typical costs associated with entering the card market using an in-house system prohibitive, but with the rise in consumer concern in electronic and card based fraud, we were at pains to find a solution that could address these issues head-on, while providing a cost effective service. I believe we have found a totally robust, low risk answer in NOMAD Processing Services."
As an outsourced service, NOMAD has brought together a best-of-breed supplier for each area of delivery to provide a premier service culminating in a one-stop-shop including card and PIN mailer provision:
- IBM e-business Hosting Services - who host the infrastructure, hardware and communications
- Oberthur Card Systems - for card production and personalisation
- Astron Group - for PIN mailers