Fundtech (Nasdaq:FNDT), a market leader in global transaction banking solutions, and operator of the world's largest Swift service bureau with over 300 financial clients, has signed its 50th corporate client, reaching an important milestone after three years of rapid growth in its corporate business.
Corporations are showing increased interest in communicating with their banks via SWIFT as they seek to simplify and standardize these connections to automate and lower costs.
Fundtech's Financial Messaging Business Unit has seen growing interest in SWIFT among corporations following the global financial crisis. This is largely attributable to the need for greater operating efficiencies and flexibility with banking relationships. By using SWIFT to communicate with banks, corporations are able to eliminate proprietary bank connections which are complex and costly to maintain. For large corporations managing multiple banking relationships, these issues are amplified. The 50 clients now on the Fundtech's ServiceBureau include major global corporations such as: Unilever, Carlsberg Group, and Coca-Cola Hellenic.
According to Ben Schol, Subject Matter Expert SAP & Treasury at Unilever: "When we operated our SWIFT connection in-house it was complex and expensive, requiring on-staff specialists to maintain it. We decided to outsource to Fundtech in order to simplify our operations and achieve the reliability that we require. The switch to the Fundtech ServiceBureau was transparent to our end-users."
Theis Jensen, Treasury Manager of Carlsberg Breweries A/S, said: "Communicating with our banks via a standard SWIFT interface will enable us to reduce operating costs by eliminating proprietary bank connections and achieving higher STP (Straight Through Processing) rates. By outsourcing to the Fundtech ServiceBureau we are able avoid the investment in an in-house capability and we will benefit from their experience."
Bart Jansen, Director of Treasury & Risk Management for Coca-Cola Hellenic, said: "SWIFTNet connectivity helps Coca-Cola Hellenic reduce complexity, driving standardization and efficiencies across the group. Our decision to work with Fundtech was logical given their strong track record with corporates and experience with SAP Treasury integration."
Fundtech's SWIFT ServiceBureau is part of the company's First ServiceBureau, a global network of six service centers that supply over 700 banks and corporations in 30 countries with a wide variety of services such as payments, cash management, electronic invoice presentment, and financial messaging. First ServiceBureau offers its clients a global SLA (service level agreement) delivering consistency and reliability throughout the world, as well as regional technical support ensuring that help is available within the user's time zone. This unique combination of global and local services addresses the growing trend of globalizing business processes and the need for more connected and integrated operations.