The partnership is targeting retail banks, wholesale banks and universal banks in the region to offer new generation, flexible, scalable and integrated-yet-modular solutions in core banking, e-banking, web based cash management, treasury, trade finance and alerts. The two companies are established software solution providers in the financial services space, with more than a third of Infosys' FY 03 global revenues of US $ 753 Million coming from Financial Services vertical alone, while Comparex is already the leading player in the local market. The partnership aims to deliver a clear value proposition to its customer banks: a one-stop-shop for a total end-to-end solution offering comprising software, hardware and networking.

With Comparex, a leading BEE compliant South African ICT company, solidly complementing Infosys’ world class banking solution with local services and support, this partnership provides banks in the region new-age technology solutions based on lower total cost of ownership and the lowest risk.

According to John Lagaay, Group Executive of Comparex Africa, "We view this alliance as strategic to our plans in the banking space in the region. We are confident that the addition of Finacle to our portfolio of banking solutions will enable us to address the needs of our banking clients end-to-end. The partnership with Infosys with its new generation solutions, global best business practices, impeccable delivery track record and global delivery model will also enable us to offer a unique value proposition to our banking clients and enable them to create competitive differentiation based on business agility and lower total cost of ownership. We view this as a allround win-win proposition and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Infosys."

According to Merwin Fernandes, Vice President and Global Head- Sales and Marketing, Banking Business Unit, Infosys Technologies, "We are delighted to partner with Comparex Africa, a leading BEE compliant ICT company in the region. Banks world over are today saddled with legacy systems that are expensive to maintain and act as a drag on their business agility. Legacy replacement has emerged as a pre-requisite; a challenge and an opportunity. With proven unmatched scalability (>26M transactions/hour in a E&Y audited scalability test and ~8M peak transactions/day in a LIVE site), new generation architecture, unparalleled flexibility and flawless implementation track record - Finacle has emerged as a low risk and low TCO new generation alternative to legacy systems. We view South Africa as a strategic market in this space. We are excited with this opportunity and truly believe that together with Comparex we can make a difference to the banks in the region."