Providing merchants, terminal providers and banks with electronic payment processing services, Rahaxi captures transactions and routes them to financial institutions, including some of the leading Finnish banks.

As an extension to the original contract signed in 2004, this deal will support Rahaxi's new European expansion initiative, launched this month with a presence in Spain. Rahaxi's European growth strategy is to move into 10 new European markets, including Portugal, Denmark and Turkey, building on its established presence in Finland and Sweden.

TNS will use its global network to deliver high-speed debit, credit, smart card and wireless transactions from terminals to Rahaxi's payment processing engine in Helsinki and leading acquirers and issuers.

Now with over 1,700 merchants across Sweden and Finland, an increase of 700 in the last year alone, Rahaxi hopes to gain an additional 3,000 within the first year of the new programme.

Angel Pacheco, chief technology officer at FreeStar commented: "TNS' worldwide presence and flexibility is paramount during this exciting transition. Outsourcing to TNS saves us time and money, removing the need to construct and maintain our own system, and allowing us to concentrate on developing relationships in these new markets.

"The contract not only satisfies the company's long-term objective throughout these new markets but also supports Rahaxi's investment in technology to provide fast and secure data transfers for its customers in the increasingly competitive retail market."

The new contract will have TNS support Rahaxi's largest ever single project.
After replacing a dedicated leased line solution over a year ago, TNS will continue to handle transactions via GPRS, internet protocol based and dial up terminals for the company with 24 hour customer service 365 days a year.

Anders Wannberg, managing director for TNS Nordics, said: "The expansion of our contract with Rahaxi highlights their confidence in TNS and our ability to provide a framework for their development into 10 new European countries.

"Moving to TNS has speeded up Rahaxi's end-to-end electronic payment processing services for its customers. The result is a stronger acquiring environment and better service for customers. We are looking forward to supporting Rahaxi in achieving their expansion plans further into Europe."