|
Union Bank Program Deployment
A unified
and cost effective platform for international member payments
London 04SEP08 - CCS UK Ltd is finalizing the card
production management and rollout for one of the largest prepaid
card programs for an African Bank.
Union Bank is arguably the largest
banking group in Nigeria (as published in the December 2006
edition of the London Financial Times). It is also the sixth
largest banking group in Africa. Utilizing its UK subsidiary,
Union Bank UK PLC (regulated by the UK Financial Services
Authority) and French West African subsidiary, Republic Bank
de’Benin, the bank has ambitious plans not only for Nigeria but
across the African peninsula and European markets where millions
of Nigerians reside.
In October 2007
Union Bank of Nigeria PLC signed a
one-year US$150m, Naira-linked Bilateral Loan Agreement with
Merrill Lynch International. The Agreement is the first-ever
international debt raising by the Bank and the first offshore
debt raising by any Nigerian bank since the credit turmoil in
the international markets. The bank was also recently approved
as a principal member issuer of Visa International and an
affiliate member of MasterCard International providing the
opportunity for its significant card issuing strategy to be
finalized.
The
card program will see an initial requirement for 100,000
reloadable prepaid cards based on the Visa and MasterCard
brand mark followed by the migration of 5 million existing
domestic card holders onto a new processing platform provided by
CCS UK Ltd's processing partner, Electra Card Services. Electra
Card Services already has a footprint in Africa providing
processing services for banks such as Ecobank Ghana, Orient Bank
Uganda and Equity Building Society in Kenya. With card production due to be initiated
imminently the
schemes will go live October 2008 allowing for a significant
volume of cards to be issued in the countdown to the Christmas
break.
Both
Mark McDonald and Jack Chang who form part of the consortium for the
project both recognize the significance of the project. "The
prepaid market has always continually suffered from an over
exertion of volume projections yet disappointing transaction
activity, however this scheme is one which will see immediate
and sustained activity since the cards issued are linked to the
card holders personal bank accounts with the bank. It is
commercially the most powerful prepaid concept for a high volume
transaction program" says Mark McDonald, Managing Director of
CCS UK Ltd.
About Union Bank of Nigeria
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc (http://www.unionbankng.com)
was established in 1917 as a Colonial Bank with its first branch
in Lagos. Today, Union Bank remains one of the best capitalized
banks in Nigeria. It has the largest shareholders' funds of
N100.500 billion and operates through a network of 379 branches
that are well spread across the country, all of which are
on-line, real time. The Bank is a leading regional bank in
sub-Sahara Africa in terms of its diverse investments across the
globe. As of 31st March, 2006, the Bank's gross earnings was N
66.576 billion; profit before tax was N 13.536 billion; total
assets was N 667.766 billion; and shareholders' fund was N
100.500 billion.
About Electra Card Services Ltd
Opusspft (http://www.opussoft.com)
was founded in 1997, with operations in North America, the Far
East and India. Its branded program ElectraCard, led by Electra
Card Services Ltd, is a comprehensive debit and credit card
management system which handles card-center requirements for
debit/ credit cards and provides quick and consistent response
time for managing data intensive card-issuing, bill production
and authorization requests It supports end-to-end requirements
of a credit card center including Card Application Processing,
Card Issuance, Online Authorization, Clearing and Settlement,
Dispute handling (Charge backs), Statement Generation, Payment
Processing, Payment Follow-up and Customer Care. In acquiring
mode, it can also provide the customer with a comprehensive
Merchant Management module including settlements and merchant
care facilities.
About CCS UK Ltd
CCS UK Ltd (www.ccsprepay.com)
is a consultancy firm which since early 2005 has been consulting
in the area of prepaid debit implementation strategies
specifically across the Europe, Middle East and African (EMEA)
region, expanding into Asia Pacific and Latin America during
2006. By developing relationships with issuing banks and
transaction processors CCS guides its corporate clientele to the
most appropriate product offering based on a detailed program
qualification process and guidance by an internal financial
advisory counsel that provides the risk management expertise and
regulatory understanding for both local, regional and global
program positioning. CCS UK Ltd is an authorized MasterCard
Member Service Provider (MSP) and Visa Independent Sales
Organization (ISO) for strategic MasterCard and Visa member
issuing banks.
Contacts:
CCS Operations
Sharon Hay
admin@ccsprepay.com
|
18
SOHO SQUARE
