The new licence, which includes BASE24-atm and BASE24-pos modules, includes a second-site licence for DSK Bank in Bulgaria, a recent acquisition of the OTP Group. As part of the agreement, DSK Bank will also implement ACI Card Management System software for the issuing and acquiring of bank cards.

Building on its successful relationship with ACI, OTP Bank enlisted ACI to assist the new OTP Group subsidiary DSK Bank in its payments system overhaul. With the new implementation, OTP Bank is reinforcing its position as Hungary's leading bank and the fifth largest bank in Central and Eastern Europe. OTP Bank has relied on ACI's BASE24-atm and BASE24-pos to acquire, authenticate, route, switch and authorise financial transactions for more than ten years.

In addition to its new payment processing platform, DSK Bank will implement ACI's Card Management System to manage its relationship with cardholders and merchants. The control of all types of card issuance (debit, credit, magnetic stripe or chip-enabled cards) is made easy through a user-friendly graphical interface. DSK Bank required a highly configurable system, eliminating the need for costly, time-consuming programming to define new card products and merchant terms.

"With ACI's proven experience and market leading technology, we have replaced the payments system of DSK Bank, ensuring we can offer the same unrivalled service excellence to DSK customers that OTP customers have come to expect," said Gyula Pap, OTP Bank deputy CEO and CTO. "BASE24 will provide the backbone to DSK's payments processing. Its reliability and scalability will enable DSK to maintain a world class level of responsiveness."

"The payments infrastructure of OTP Bank built on BASE24 has been very successful and we will look to replicate this success with DSK Bank," said Gianfranco Botti, regional manager ACI Worldwide. "The extension of OTP's licence and the addition of new functionality will provide greater control and efficiency as the bank continues its expansion plans. We are delighted with this new business growth as we continue our own expansion in this region."