The first implementations are taking place in Cameroon and at the Group's head office in Geneva, Switzerland. The Bank, which currently issues domestic debit cards and an i-card payment product (an electronic purse based on chip card technology) has begun to migrate its payment business to SmartVista. Thanks to the flexibility, scalability and configurability of SmartVista the Group will be able to broaden its range of card products for domestic and international payments, increase the security of transactions, enhance the management of its ATM network, and develop value added services like loyalty programs. In Cameroon, Afriland First Bank will be issuing Visa and MasterCard products and BPC will support the Bank in its certification with these international payment schemes.

A key component in the Bank's new infrastructure is the creation of a central switch in the Group head office in Geneva, Switzerland. The implementation of SmartSwitch, one of the core products in the SmartVista suite will drive on-line transaction switching and routing for the Afriland Group. The Group's Cameroon operation will be the first to be connected to the Geneva switch.

SmartSwitch manages the complete end-to-end requirements of authorization switching by delivering the core areas of functionality including authorization routing and stand-in processing. SmartSwitch provides an online interface to link external devices, such as POS terminals or ATMs, then routes card transaction data to the issuer. SmartSwitch is developed to empower the card business by increasing efficiency and product innovation while significantly reducing TCO.

"We made an important strategic decision for our card business to create a new state-of-the-art infrastructure based on SmartVista," said Jean Paulin Fonkoua Kake, Executive Vice President Afriland First Bank Group. "SmartVista is a powerful comprehensive e-payments processing solution that will allow us to transform our card business and enhance our market competitiveness".

"We are proud to have been selected to provide Afriland First Bank Group's payment system infrastructure. We are enjoying a growing reputation and market share globally for major projects such as this. Our success is built on world beating technology coupled with a strong focus on customer delivery and support," commented Vasily Grigoriev, CEO, BPC Banking Technologies.

"MEA is an exciting market evidenced by dynamic growth in e-payments business. SmartVista represents a compelling solution for the continent's financial services industry and our win with the Afriland First Bank Group underscores our ability to create a complete e-payments infrastructure across diverse markets," added Daryl Berg, Managing Director MEA BPC Banking Technologies.