Fundtech, who operates the world's largest SWIFT service bureau, and Open Solutions, the leading provider of corporate bank account management software, jointly announced their partnering agreement to offer Electronic Bank Account Management (eBAM) services over the SWIFT network.
This first ever end-to-end cloud-based service enables corporations to better manage their bank accounts by reducing errors, improving security and streamlining the entire process through automation. Improved cash visibility is also an important benefit for corporate treasurers.
Through this collaboration, users of Open Solution's Weiland BAweb, a browser-based electronic bank account management platform, will be able to connect seamlessly to their banks via SWIFT, allowing them to exchange eBAM messages safely and securely. Time-consuming administrative tasks such as opening and closing accounts, managing signatories and obtaining account information will be automated, dramatically reducing errors, reducing response time and increasing the treasurer's level of control.
eBAM has been a slow growing industry initiative for over ten years. However in 2010, when SWIFT adopted the financial industry's XML message standard ISO 20022, many of the barriers to growth were eliminated. With a single message standard, corporations can now automate their bank account management across all of their banking relationships.
"By enabling accurate, real-time corporate-bank communications, the partnership allows Weiland BAweb clients to close the audit gap that has always existed between the company's records and the bank's records," states Dan Gill, Director of Corporate Solutions at Open Solutions. "With this agreement, the world of automated, electronic bank account management now becomes a reality for the vast number of Fortune 1000 companies that use Weiland BAweb."
According to Mary Ellen Putnam, Fundtech's Executive Vice President of US Banking Products: "Our partnership with Open Solutions offers the market an end-to-end service that addresses important needs that corporate treasury departments have with managing their banking relationships such as improved accuracy and security, while streamlining a time-consuming process. Corporate treasuries can now take full advantage of SWIFT's global financial network to obtain true global cash visibility, enhanced payments processing and reporting services from their SWIFT partner banks, all across the world."