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Articles from
November 2007
Fiserv Announces Paytraxx Adoption Marketing Program with Online Tutorial
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New marketing support program designed to help institutions increase bill pay adoption rates
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading provider of information technology services to the financial industry worldwide, announced the availability of a new Adoption Marketing Program for its Paytraxx™ electronic bill payment solution, which delivers a premium user interface, robust administration tools and tight integration to other Fiserv products and services. The Adoption Marketing Program includes a complete suite of first-class marketing toolsdesigned to assist financial institutions in successfully promoting bill pay services to their customers. Fiserv has signed 214 new Paytraxx clients since January. The company now has more than 650 financial institutions using the solution to provide convenience and value to their customers.
“Offering an online bill payment service has many tangible benefits for financial institutions and the customers they serve. Studies show that on average, bill pay users maintain higher balances, have more accounts, buy more products and services, and are significantly less likely to leave their financial institution,” said Kim Killingsworth, business line president for Fiserv’s Paytraxx. “But we recognize that bill pay services are most beneficial when there is widespread adoption of the offering among the financial institution’s customer base. Our new Adoption Marketing Program is designed to help our clients maximize the results of their bill payment offering. And we expect this compelling suite of marketing support tools, combined with our ongoing development efforts, to enable us and our clients to continue to experience steady market momentum for the Paytraxx bill pay solution.”
The Adoption Marketing Program includes an intuitive online tutorial directed to consumer audiences. The online tutorial walks customers through the bill pay service, promoting the general benefits of electronic bill payment, while explaining how to use the Paytraxx system. Paytraxx clients can link to the demo from their web sites, simplifying the rollout of the new service by providing a convenient tool for customers to learn more about bill payment and the Paytraxx service. Financial institutions that have incorporated the online tutorial into their promotion strategies have experienced notable success. PIMA Federal Credit Union, a $244 million institution in Tuscon, Arizona, has experienced 1200% user growth since introducing Paytraxx to their customers four months ago. PIMA FCU used multiple elements of the Adoption Marketing Program, including the online tutorial.
“The online tutorial is a great tool to showcase all of the reasons why our members should consider becoming a bill pay user. It also shows them how easy it is to use the Paytraxx service to pay their bills quickly and conveniently online. And the other supporting print and web promotional materials gave us a head start on our marketing campaign for this advanced new bill pay service,” said Paul Kramoski, marketing director for PIMA Federal Credit Union. “Not only have we experienced a dramatic increase in bill pay adoption with this program, we have also received a lot of positive feedback from our members about the online tutorial’s easy-to-understand screens and approachable format.”
Developed with support from Beavercreek Marketing, the basic Adoption Marketing Program is free to all Paytraxx clients and includes the online tutorial, sample print materials—including statement inserts, newspaper ads, direct mail postcard, and lobby displays—as well as web banner ads and an educational presentation for the institution’s staff members. Financial institutions can add their own logos and photography to the print materials, or can choose to work directly with Beavercreek Marketing to customize the materials to match their institution’s brand for a nominal fee, plus printing costs.
In addition to the Adoption Marketing Program, Fiserv recently added several new features to the Paytraxx solution, including expedited payments, business bill payment services, and account to account transfer capabilities.
About Paytraxx
Paytraxx is the premium online bill payment solution from Fiserv, designed for financial institutions that demand flexibility, robust integration and leading-edge functionality from their bill payment provider. Delivering a broad range of functionality, unique features and seamless integration with Internet banking, Paytraxx is a proven solution for both retail and commercial customers. Paytraxx offers flexible branding, customer service and funding options, enabling institutions to capture and retain the most profitable customers in the growing bill pay market. Backed by the financial strength of Fiserv, the Paytraxx solution delivers industrial-strength reliability, quality and security, packaged with service flexibility and premium support.
About Beavercreek Marketing
Beavercreek Marketing provides financial institutions with the unique solutions needed to effectively market and educate customers about the advantages of adopting new financial technologies. At the heart of the product mix is the Online Education Center, a web-based library delivering interactive audio/video banking product tutorials. The Education Center tutorials have a proven record of success for financial institutions looking to increase enrollments and provide staff training. The company also provides Deployment Programs, plus print and Web-based marketing materials for most banking products. Beavercreek Marketing, a division of Beavercreek, Inc, is located in Grand Island, Nebraska. For more information, visit the Web site at www.bankall.com.
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a Fortune 500 company, provides information management systems and services to the financial and insurance industries. Leading services include transaction processing, outsourcing, business process outsourcing (BPO), software and systems solutions. The company serves more than 18,000 clients worldwide and is the leading provider of core processing solutions for U.S. banks, credit unions and thrifts. Fiserv was ranked the largest provider of information technology services to the financial services industry worldwide in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 FinTech 100 surveys. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., Fiserv reported more than $4.4 billion in total revenue for 2006. For more information, please visit www.fiserv.com.
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Customer Effective, Inc. Named One of South Carolina’s 2007 Fastest-Growing Companies
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Microsoft Gold Certified Partner ranks third for revenue, employment growth
Customer Effective, Inc., a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and value-added reseller of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, was honored as one of South Carolina’s Fastest-Growing Companiessm 2007 during the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Summit event in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on November 15.
Ranked third of 25, Customer Effective was recognized among an exceptional and diverse assembly of businesses from across the state with both revenue and employment growth. This year’s winners represent a cross-section of industries and business categories including: financial services, construction, manufacturing, professional services and technology.
“Being named as one the state’s fastest-growing companies is testament to our success as a business,” said Scott Millwood, president, Customer Effective. “Our significant growth shows the high demand for CRM technology across the board. We have conducted more than 200 Microsoft CRM implementation and development projects thus far, and we anticipate even stronger growth moving forward as this technology becomes necessary for organizations to remain competitive.”
Submissions were evaluated and ranked by a review panel from Elliott Davis, LLC, a co-sponsor of the program. Final selections were based on both gross revenues or assets, and full-time employment.
About Customer Effective
Customer Effective, with headquarters in Greenville, SC, is a leading innovator in customer interaction solutions based on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform. Customer Effective is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Independent Software Vendor (ISV) and Solution Implementer serving mid-market and enterprise organizations worldwide. With a sole focus on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the company has been engaged in more than 200 Microsoft CRM implementation and development projects. For more information, visit www.CustomerEffective.com.
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First Bank and Trust East Texas Selects Open Solutions' Enterprise-Wide Relational Data Processing Platform
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Bank gains advanced reporting tools and relational database through state-of-the-art platform
First Bank and Trust East Texas announced it has selected Open Solutions Inc.'s® The Complete Banking Solution® (TCBS), a relational core data processing platform, to address its enterprise-wide data processing needs. Open Solutions is a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial service providers across the United States, Canada and other international markets.
A locally owned community bank serving the communities of East Texas and headquartered in Diboll, Texas, First Bank and Trust East Texas has approximately $575 million in assets, 18 branches and more than 45,000 customers. Following a comprehensive selection process, the bank cited Open Solutions' relational database technology, large installed bank client base and proven installation and training programs as the primary reasons for its selection of Open Solutions' TCBS platform.
"We spent a significant amount of time evaluating the leading providers of core banking technology including our previous vendor of more than 20 years, as well as some of the more recent entrants to the financial services space," said Dana Helton, senior vice president - cashier of First Bank and Trust East Texas. "Open Solutions' platform was the only system that addressed all of the needs requested by each department within the bank. The open architecture gives us the flexibility to choose our own hardware and the confidence that TCBS will be able to support our current business goals, as well as our anticipated growth and expansion."
First Bank and Trust East Texas is dedicated to providing its customers with sophisticated technological support including online banking, image-enabled item processing and numerous' commercial treasury management products.
"We understand each of our customers has unique banking needs," said Helton. "Like Open Solutions, we remain committed to providing personalized service to meet our customers' individual goals. We were impressed with the flexibility of Open Solutions' TCBS and felt it was the only solution that offered real time balance information across all channels for our growing customer base. This will give us an advantage in our market and create a value-add for the bank's customers."
The Complete Banking Solution is built on a powerful, centralized OracleÒ relational database designed to be an open architecture application, creating the flexibility necessary for running a service-oriented financial institution. It helps banks streamline both front and back office processes and creates a centralized view of customers, employees and business partners.
"Following implementation, we anticipate significant improvements in terms of our operational efficiencies, streamlining our current procedures and gaining the ability to quickly offer new products and provide better service to our customers," said Helton. "Additionally, we expect to gain improved report writing abilities, giving our entire team a more complete view of our customer base. We look forward to a long-term partnership with Open Solutions."
In addition to The Complete Banking Solution data processing platform, First Bank and Trust East Texas is also implementing Open Solutions' cViewT (CRM/business intelligence), integrated safe deposit module, real-time ATM support, shadow accounting, premium overdraft, financial accounting, profitability, asset liability, financial planning and Portfolio Genius® applications.
"Open Solutions is committed to providing financial institutions like First Bank and Trust East Texas with an open array of technology choices to handle their enterprise-wide data processing and complementary product solutions needs," said Louis Hernandez, Jr., chairman and CEO of Open Solutions. "Our technology was designed to give our clients the accurate, relevant, real-time information needed to make effective and strategic business decisions. First Bank and Trust East Texas has demonstrated a commitment to leveraging technology to better serve its customer base. We share this commitment and look forward to helping the bank accomplish this goal."
About Open Solutions
Open Solutions Inc. offers a fully featured strategic information management product platform that integrates core data processing applications built on a single centralized Oracle relational database, with Internet banking, cash management, CRM/business intelligence, financial accounting and management tools, profitability tools, wealth management, imaging, digital documents, interactive voice response, network services, HSAs, payments and loan origination solutions. Open Solutions' full suite of products and services allows banks, thrifts, credit unions and financial services providers in the United States, Canada and internationally to better compete in today's aggressive financial services marketplace, and expand and tap their trusted financial relationships, client affinity, community presence and personalized service.
For more information about Open Solutions or its financial product line, contact Mickey Goldwasser by email at mgoldwasser@opensolutions.com or by phone at 860.652.3153 or via fax at 860.652.3156. Visit Open Solutions' Internet site at www.opensolutions.com.
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Banque AGF Selects NetEconomy’s Compliance Manager Solution to Improve Anti-money Laundering Operations
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NetEconomy, the global leader in financial crime management and compliance solutions, and a business unit of Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV), announced that Banque AGF France has selected its Compliance Manager anti-money laundering (AML) solution to improve and streamline suspicious activity detection, analysis and regulatory reporting.
Based in Paris, Banque AGF is a retail bank and member of the Allianz Group, one of the leading global services providers in insurance, banking and asset management serving more than 70 million customers in 70 countries. NetEconomy’s Compliance Manager solution will monitor and profile all of Banque AGF’s customers and transactions to detect unusual activity, and provide analysis tools and an integrated case management system for storing suspicious activity evidence and generating required regulatory reports.
“Banque AGF was looking for a user friendly and easily deployable automated anti-money laundering system that could meet our immediate AML needs today, but also provide the flexibility and capability to extend to other product lines and financial crime areas in the future,” said Martine Protat, Compliance Manager, of Banque AGF. “After a thorough evaluation process, NetEconomy was selected because it represented the most effective solution to meet these requirements. By being able to leverage the NetEconomy AML system for our insurance business, AGF will better be able to protect our customers and mitigate financial crime across our financial institution.”
“We are extremely pleased to add Banque AGF to our growing roster of banks within France,” said Peter Kwakernaak, Chief Commercial Officer of NetEconomy. “By selecting NetEconomy, Banque AGF will benefit from reduced total cost of ownership (TCO). Our modular holistic solution can span new geographies, product lines and crime areas for streamlined delivery, reduced compliance costs and enterprise-wide financial crime risk reduction, not only for banking, but also for insurance operations.”
About Banque AGF
Banque AGF is a services bank for individuals, with non-proprietary networks and with a multi-channel infrastructure. Its comprehensive offering includes: daily banking services, savings products, and a large range of loan products. The offering is distributed exclusively by the Group's networks, primarily the network of salaried advisors and tied agents and is accessible via remote banking tools (telephony and internet). The bank aims to become the benchmark for AGF customers, thanks to its dynamic nature, its attractive products and its profitability. Banque AGF is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Assurances Générales de France (AGF), a French general insurance company offering life and health insurance, property and causality, as well as banking and financial services, and asset management.
About NetEconomy
NetEconomy, based in The Hague, with offices in London, Paris, Boston, New York, Sydney, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and distributors and strategic partners across South Africa, Australia, Europe, Southeast Asia and the United States, is the leading provider of financial crime management and compliance solutions. With more than 140 implementations across 58 countries, NetEconomy brings business value to its worldwide client base through its personalized customer approach for minimizing regulatory risk, delivering measurable results and protecting corporate brand and reputation. For more information, please visit www.neteconomy.com. For more information on NetPractice, visit www.netpractice.org.
About Fiserv, Inc.
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a Fortune 500 company, provides information management systems and services to the financial and insurance industries. Leading services include transaction processing, outsourcing, business process outsourcing (BPO), software and systems solutions. The company serves more than 18,000 clients worldwide and is the leading provider of core processing solutions for U.S. banks, credit unions and thrifts. Fiserv was ranked the largest provider of information technology services to the financial services industry worldwide in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 FinTech 100 surveys. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., Fiserv reported more than $4.4 billion in total revenue for 2006. For more information, please visit www.fiserv.com.
For more information contact:
Alison Holland
Director, Worldwide Marketing
NetEconomy
+1 508-893-6066
aholland@neteconomy.com
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29WEST EXPANDS MONITORING CAPABILITIES WITH ADDITION OF SNMP MONITORING
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Demonstrating the 29West SNMP Solution using the Intermapper SNMP display station at the Futures Industry Expo 2007 in Chicago
29West, Inc., a leading provider of high performance messaging software, announced the addition of a 29West MIB to support SNMP monitoring for the company's messaging solutions. The monitor will support both the Latency Busters Messaging (LBM) solution for streaming messaging and the Ultra messaging for the Enterprise (UME) messaging solution. The solution is being demonstrated at the 29West booth at the FIA show in Chicago on November 27th and 28th. The addition of the 29West MIB provides further monitoring support to the current suite of monitoring capabilities that include: Wireshark dissectors for passive monitoring, extensive API support to gather statistics into your application and aggregated statistics support - which allows application developers to have the messaging statistics automatically gathered at a central machine for system wide monitoring.
"We are excited to be adding to our extensive monitoring capability by providing support for SNMP and delivering a turn-key management station through the use of the Intermapper SNMP management station", says Mark Mahowald, president and founder of 29West. "By making statistics from 29West messaging available through an SNMP based standards interface, high performance customers can now integrate with a large number of specialized monitoring solutions which provides a host of functionality from network forensics to graphical representation. We have been approached by a number of leading firms that provide monitoring software and management stations and have been working with them to ensure their products are able to view and report on 29West messaging traffic for our shared customers. The use of SNMP will ease this integration and our range of monitoring solutions offers our customers the flexibility they need. The pressure towards low latency and high performance plays well for us, given our performance advantages over the other commercial messaging products available today. Within this high performance environment, a broad range of monitoring options is crucial."
29West's LBM is a fast, efficient, lightweight messaging system targeted specifically at low-latency, high-speed streaming messaging applications. UME is a low-latency, high-speed persistent messaging solution with delivery confirmation and durable subscriptions that is designed for applications that need a new messaging model to replace legacy messaging solutions across the enterprise. With the ability to provide streaming and persistent data with under 80 microseconds of latency, 29West provides industry leading performance. Early Access to the 29West monitoring platform and the MIB for SNMP is currently available with a full release scheduled for the second half of Q1, 2008.
ABOUT 29WEST
29West is the leader in high-performance, low-latency messaging solutions for financial institutions. Founded in 2002 by Mark Mahowald (former COO of Talarian), 29West team members have been at the forefront of high-speed, real-time data distribution and networking since the mid-1980s. From its first release in November 2004, 29West's Latency Busters(r) Messaging (LBM) has set a new standard in performance for financial market messaging and has been deployed in over 100 firms worldwide. With the introduction of Ultra Messaging (tm) for the Enterprise (UME) at the end of 2006, 29West has added persistence and delivery confirmation to its industry-leading messaging product offerings. With offices in Chicago, New York, London and Tokyo, 29West supports the financial markets worldwide.
For more information, visit http://www.29west.com
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Darryl Lemecha Named Vertafore CIO
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New Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer to Lead Corporate Information Technology Initiatives
Vertafore™, Inc., a leading provider of specialized software and information solutions for the insurance industry, named Darryl Lemecha senior vice president and chief information officer (CIO). Lemecha's responsibilities include leading corporate information technology strategy and hosting services for all Vertafore's business units including AMS Services®, BenefitPoint®, ImageRight® and SilverPlume®.
"As a leader in the insurance technology business, Vertafore is committed to building a world-class management team with extensive experience across all facets of our business," said Euan Menzies, president and CEO of Vertafore. “Darryl's extensive experience and strong technology vision will add essential new competencies to our team as we strive to deliver highly scalable, world-class solutions to our insurance customers."
Before joining Vertafore, Lemecha served as CIO for ChoicePoint, a provider of decision-making technology and information. At ChoicePoint, Lemecha's responsibilities included technology shared services, security and risk management, customer support and implementation and customer credentials management. In his role as ChoicePoint CIO, Lemecha received numerous accolades including being named one of Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders, Oracle CIO of the Quarter and a finalist for the Georgia CIO of the Year.
Prior to joining ChoicePoint, Lemecha served as senior vice president and CIO of Insignia Financial Group. At Insignia, Lemecha directed the firm's strategic and emerging use of information technologies worldwide.
About Vertafore, Inc.
Vertafore is a leading provider of specialized software services and information for the insurance industry, delivering solutions to facilitate independent agent productivity and carrier/agent connectivity. Vertafore's principal operating entities are AMS Services, BenefitPoint, ImageRight and SilverPlume. AMS Services provides agency software and services to more than 15,000 independent insurance agencies and 150,000 users. BenefitPoint’s Aptus solution is the leading management system solution serving the needs of brokers and agents within the employee benefits arena. ImageRight is the market leader in insurance-specific document management and workflow solutions. SilverPlume is the industry's leading aggregator of insurance reference content for risk analysis and underwriting support. For more information on Vertafore and its operating entities, please visit www.vertafore.com.
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Pawtucket Credit Union Selects Open Solutions’ Image-based Item Processing and Branch Capture Solutions
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Credit union to expand its Check 21 capabilities
Pawtucket Credit Union announced it has selected Open Solutions Inc.’s® branch capture and image-based item processing solutions to further streamline operations and enhance its overall Check 21 strategy. Open Solutions is a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial service providers across the United States, Canada and other international markets.
Based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Pawtucket Credit Union has approximately $866 million in assets, 64,000 members and 12 full-service branches. Currently relying on Open Solutions’ The Complete Credit Union Solution® (TCCUS), a relational core data processing platform for credit unions, Pawtucket will now have the ability to capture images of paper transactions at branch locations and transmit images for proof-of-deposit electronically, eliminating the need to transport or archive paper documents.
“After a thorough evaluation process, we found Open Solutions’ item processing and branch capture applications to be the best choice to meet our future growth, operational and strategic goals,” said William Slade, vice president of data services for Pawtucket Credit Union. “Additionally, the solution will enable the credit union to automate many traditionally manual procedures, such as helping us streamline our workflow and cut down on associated expenses. We were impressed with the rich feature functionality and the maturity of the offering. We selected Open Solutions because they offered a complete Check 21 solution that we believe will address many of the challenges associated with today’s payment systems environment, as well as enable Pawtucket to take advantage of many Check 21 opportunities.”
Open Solutions’ image-enabled item processing system drives a wide range of check-processing transports and streamlines a financial institution’s operations, optimizes workflow, enhances business flexibility and generates fee income. The system provides for improved funds availability, offers faster client service and helps institutions retain more accounts and saves on monthly mailing costs.
Tim Clewley, senior vice president and general manager, Imaged Payment Technologies Group, said, “Our goal is to help community financial institutions leverage technology to be more efficient, more profitable, more competitive and provide more compelling products and services to their clients. We realize the needs of every institution are not the same and therefore focus on providing customized, flexible solutions that address the unique needs institutions have today, as well as the challenges of tomorrow. Our image-based item processing products and services are designed to help institutions achieve the highest level of operational success. We’ve worked with Pawtucket Credit Union for several years and look forward to expanding our relationship to include remote branch capture and item processing capabilities.”
“We are extremely pleased that we’ve expanded our relationship with Pawtucket Credit Union,” said Louis Hernandez, Jr., Open Solutions’ chairman and CEO. “We realize credit unions are facing intense competition in the market and have designed a suite of products to help credit unions streamline operations, offer superior service to their members and take advantage of the many opportunities associated with Check 21. Open Solutions’ goal is to fully equip institutions of all sizes to better compete and achieve their strategic goals. This recent expansion of our services to Pawtucket fully demonstrates our breadth of offerings and ability to address the most pressing challenges facing today’s financial marketplace.”
About Open Solutions
Open Solutions Inc. offers a fully featured strategic information management product platform that integrates core data processing applications built on a single centralized Oracle relational database, with Internet banking, cash management, CRM/business intelligence, financial accounting and management tools, profitability tools, wealth management, imaging, digital documents, interactive voice response, network services, HSAs, payments and loan origination solutions. Open Solutions’ full suite of products and services allows banks, thrifts, credit unions and financial services providers in the United States, Canada and internationally to better compete in today’s aggressive financial services marketplace, and expand and tap their trusted financial relationships, client affinity, community presence and personalized service.
For more information about Open Solutions or its financial product line, contact Mickey Goldwasser by email at mgoldwasser@opensolutions.com or by phone at 860.652.3153 or via fax at 860.652.3156. Visit Open Solutions’ Internet site at www.opensolutions.com.
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Blue Frog Solutions Patents New Process for Generating Composite Product Profiles for Financial Products
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Blue Frog Solutions, a leading provider of Life & Annuity Solutions for Order Management, Compliance, and straight-through-processing has announced that it has patented a new method and system for creating a composite financial product profile from information received from both a Manufacturer/Carrier and a Distributor.
The method comprises receiving profile information for a financial product from a Manufacturer/Carrier, comparing a second product profile received from a Distributor and dynamically amalgamating them into a single, composite product profile. The composite product profile, which can be provided in any data model or format, can then be used for an order entry or any other system.
"This method and system creates a composite product profile for a financial product without requiring direct coordination between the Manufacturer/Carrier and Distributor, so each can work independently from one another," says Stephen Hoczak, Sr. Sales Engineer of Blue Frog Solutions.
In addition, the method/system does not require a Carrier to create separate product profiles for each Distributor. As a Carrier updates its product profile rules or a Distributor changes its product rules or information, the system automatically creates new composite product profiles based on the latest available information.
Blue Frog Solutions, (www.bluefrogsolutions.com), based in Pompano Beach, Florida, is a leading technology solutions provider and business processing outsourcing (BPO) firm that focuses on the life, annuities and long-term care market. Blue Frog automates both front and back end business processes between Carriers and Distributors with a focus on compliance to create automated business process efficiencies. Blue Frog's solutions are based on the firm's flagship ADMServer Framework software suite. As one of the largest providers of ACORD-based transactions and DTCC solutions, Blue Frog currently provides ADMServer solutions to more than 60 percent of the top 40 life and annuity companies and many of the largest Distributors in the U.S.
More information about the AFFIRM for Annuities Compliance and Order Management System is available at: http://www.bluefrogsolutions.com/annuities.asp or Doug Massey at 954-788-0700 x216 dmassey@bluefrogsolutions.com.
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WAUSAU Unveils Enhanced eStore, WAUSAU Online, for Convenient Online Ordering
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WAUSAU, the industry leader in distributed payment and document processing solutions, announced an enhanced version of its online store. The new site, WAUSAU Online, allows customers more options and flexibility than ever before. To celebrate the new WAUSAU Online launch, WAUSAU is offering special promotional pricing on a number of its products.
"Efficient customer service is the focus of the new change. Whether the customer needs a quick and easy online solution for ordering supplies, or would like to speak to an inside sales representative, WAUSAU offers the very best of both services,” Sue Williams, Assistant Vice President - Inside Sales for WAUSAU said. “We realize that talking with our customers directly is essential, and we excel at traditional customer care. We also realize that our customers are very busy and that they expect 100% satisfaction when ordering their supplies online.”
The first phase of the project was to offer WAUSAU’s Remote Corporate Capture products through the site, including joggers, scanners and scanner supplies. Now, in phase two, WAUSAU will offer its entire line of consumables through WAUSAU Online. When completed, the eStore will feature over 1,000 products.
Key site features and benefits of WAUSAU Online include:
- An expanded product line
- Online access to order history and status
- Extensive product information
- Immediate notification of order and shipment
- 24/7 availability
- Multiple ship to and bill to addresses
- Windows-based and user-friendly features
- Multiple payment options: Credit and ACH/Debit
- Customer-specific pricing
“It is all about making ordering easier for our customers and providing effortless and reliable access to the resources they need for effectively running their operations,” Williams said. “We’re always looking for new ways to make our customers’ day-to-day tasks less complicated, and WAUSAU Online achieves that.”
About WAUSAU
WAUSAU is a premier provider of payment and remittance processing solutions, serving businesses of all types to develop strategies that move money faster. With its products, services and consulting, WAUSAU works with customers to speed check processing, electronic presentment, ACH payments, transaction processing, distributed capture and enterprise content management. WAUSAU’s innovative solutions provide results for a wide range of organizations including financial institutions, insurance companies, utilities, retail businesses and governmental agencies. Find more information about WAUSAU at www.wausaufs.com.
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Skywire Software and SISTRAN Announce Partnership
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Alliance of two global enterprise software leaders will help insurers
extend functionality of existing systems in any language
Skywire Software, a leading global provider of software and services for the insurance industry, announced it has formed a partnership with insurance software vendor SISTRAN. The two companies will work together to offer improved capabilities across a range of key functions to insurers operating in multilingual environments.
SISTRAN offers core systems and services, including policy and claims administration, to the insurance industry worldwide. Skywire Software offers components, including rating, rules, underwriting, business intelligence, and customer communications management (CCM), that wrap around core systems. The two companies are working together to provide global insurers with a wider range of functionality and empower them to better manage the policy lifecycle in any language.
“Skywire Software has flexible and robust component-based products that complement our software,” said Juan A. Mazzini, vice president of new markets at SISTRAN. “An example is their business intelligence software, which is an excellent fit with our policy administration and claims systems. Together, SISTRAN and Skywire Software can offer insurers deeper insight and more comprehensive policy management for their markets globally.”
Skywire Software and SISTRAN both have a worldwide presence and deep domain expertise in the insurance sector. The two companies’ combined offerings will provide insurers with a comprehensive platform with real-time access, built for the way insurers work today in a 24x7 environment.
“SISTRAN has a strong presence and leadership in the Latin American market, and has begun a worldwide expansion,” said Wendy Gibson, chief marketing officer, Skywire Software. “More insurers are moving into new markets to take advantage of strong growth opportunities, and they require software that will help them address the challenges of doing business globally. This alliance further demonstrates Skywire Software’s commitment to helping insurers extend and improve their operations around the world.”
Skywire Software is a leading provider of software and services to the insurance industry, serving more than 1,300 insurance companies. The company provides best-in-breed software components that extend core administration systems and assist insurers in managing the lifecycle of a policy. In addition to Skywire Software’s business and enterprise CCM applications, customers also leverage the deep insurance domain knowledge and expertise of Skywire Software’s professional services team.
Skywire Software partners with technology and service providers to better address the needs of its clients. The company’s technology is designed to integrate with partner technologies, enhancing innovation and leveraging customers' investments. Skywire Software also holds a number of partner and third party certifications. For more information about the Skywire Software Alliance Program, call 972-377-1110 or contactus@skywiresoftware.com.
About SISTRAN
SISTRAN has been providing software solutions and services for the insurance industry since 1977. Solutions available include a rules based insurance product designer; a policy administration system; mobile & wireless solutions; a claims administration system; a reinsurance system; regulatory reporting, billing, accounting and a general ledger system. SISTRAN provides a wide range of services including: outsourcing, consulting, integration and maintenance services to carriers, MGAs and TPAs.
From the small, to the multibillion-dollar-companies, in the Life and P&C industry, SISTRAN helps them define their IT and operations strategies while evaluating, designing, developing and implementing the systems and processes that best solve their business challenges.
About Skywire Software
Skywire Software is a leading software company serving the insurance, financial services, health care, utility, legal and professional services industries. The Company develops industry-specific software products that help companies integrate processes, people and information. With products and services that span a range of key functions, including rating, rules, underwriting, business intelligence, agency management, data movement, and enterprise-wide document automation and compliance, Skywire Software is dedicated to providing an unparalleled customer experience to more than 2,300 customers in 45 countries worldwide. For more information, contact Skywire Software at 1-800-735-6620 or visit www.skywiresoftware.com.
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Deseret First Credit Union Selects Open Solutions' Enterprise-Wide Data Processing Platform
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Credit union gains complete view of membership
Deseret First Credit Union announced it has selected and is in the process of implementing Open Solutions Inc.'s The Complete Credit Union Solution®, a relational core data processing platform for credit unions, to address its enterprise-wide data processing needs. Open Solutions is a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial service providers across the United States, Canada and other international markets.
Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Deseret First Credit Union has approximately $425 million in assets, 13 branches and serves more than 50,000 members. After an extensive evaluation process, the credit union cited Open Solutions' innovative approach to technology, industry experience and commercial lending capabilities as the primary reasons for its selection.
"Deseret First continues to experience rapid growth," said Shane London, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Deseret First Credit Union. "We realized we had outgrown our existing system and began our due diligence in search of a system that could support our current and future needs. After thorough review, we determined Open Solutions' TCCUS was the most sophisticated in terms of its open architecture and the breadth of solutions offered. Additionally, we were impressed with Open Solutions' philosophy to identify individual challenges facing our credit union and in turn offer solid technology solutions."
Upon implementation, London expects the credit union to gain operational efficiencies, enhanced report generation capabilities and expanded workflow analysis. The Complete Credit Union Solution is built on a powerful, centralized Oracle® relational database designed to be an open architecture application, creating the flexibility necessary for running a service-oriented financial institution. It helps credit unions streamline both front and back office processes and creates a centralized view of members, employees and business partners.
"The functionality we're gaining from TCCUS will enable our entire staff to better serve our members," said London. "Having a complete view of our membership gives us the ability to quickly deploy new products and services. This enables the credit union to quickly adapt to an increasingly competitive market. Additionally, we will advance our capabilities and logic to better serve our commercial members by more efficiently processing commercial transactions, including loans and deposits."
Open Solutions provides credit unions with a fully featured strategic product platform, integrating core data processing with strategic applications such as Internet banking, business intelligence, financial accounting applications, electronic imaging, payment and interactive voice response solutions. In addition to The Complete Credit Union Solution data processing platform, Deseret First Credit Union is also implementing Open Solutions' integrated solutions including cViewT (CRM/business intelligence), branch capture, image-based item processing, interactive voice response, financial accounting, loan origination and consumer and cash management applications.
"Open Solutions is dedicated to providing innovative solutions we believe will support Deseret First Credit Union's long-term strategies and increase the level of service they can provide their members," said Louis Hernandez, Jr., Open Solutions chairman and CEO. "We understand the importance of technology in today's market and our goal is to design and deploy innovative product offerings that best suit the needs of our clients' members and employees. Open Solutions designed its products to help financial institutions maintain a competitive edge in an ever-changing industry."
About Open Solutions
Open Solutions Inc. offers a fully featured strategic information management product platform that integrates core data processing applications built on a single centralized Oracle relational database, with Internet banking, cash management, CRM/business intelligence, financial accounting and management tools, profitability tools, wealth management, imaging, digital documents, interactive voice response, network services, HSAs, payments and loan origination solutions. Open Solutions' full suite of products and services allows banks, thrifts, credit unions and financial services providers in the United States, Canada and internationally to better compete in today's aggressive financial services marketplace, and expand and tap their trusted financial relationships, client affinity, community presence and personalized service.
For more information about Open Solutions or its financial product line, contact Mickey Goldwasser by email at mgoldwasser@opensolutions.com or by phone at 860.652.3153 or via fax at 860.652.3156. Visit Open Solutions' Internet site at www.opensolutions.com.
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Blue Frog Solutions Goes Live With New Version of AFFIRM for Annuities Compliance and Order Management System
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The new version has over 100 new features & improvements, including enhanced suitability, security, performance, reporting, and support for ACORD PPfA 2.16 and FINRA’s Rule 2821.
Blue Frog Solutions, a leading provider of Life & Annuity Solutions for Order Management, Compliance, and straight-through-processing released it’s AFFIRM for Annuities Compliance and Order Management System Version 1.5.
AFFIRM v1.5 is ACORD 2.16 compliant, features numerous usability improvements, a boost in performance, and support for FINRA Rule 2821. This release was made with a high-degree of coordination with Blue Frog’s industry partners, including carriers, brokerages, banks, and the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation. Blue Frog’s partners have performed extensive user testing over the past two months and the response to the latest release has been overwhelmingly positive.
“AFFIRM v1.5 is simply the best annuity order system available today, offering superior flexibility at a lower cost of ownership for our clients,” says Chris Pernicano, VP Solution Services of Blue Frog Solutions. “AFFIRM v1.5 offers cutting-edge technology that helps financial institutions deal with the complex nature of annuity sales, compliance and operations.”
"Blue Frog’s unique customization capabilities set it apart from other annuity order entry systems on the market today," says Mark Schlafly, Vice President for Sponsor Relations, Linsco/Private Ledger. "Blue Frog enables annuity purchases through LPL’s integrated platform saving time for advisors, streamlining regulatory compliance for LPL, and improving contract issuance and accuracy."
Blue Frog Solutions, www.bluefrogsolutions.com, based in Pompano Beach, Florida, is a leading technology solutions provider and business processing outsourcing (BPO) firm that focuses on the life, annuities and long-term care market. Blue Frog automates both front and back end business processes between carriers and distributors with a focus on compliance to create automated business process efficiencies. Blue Frog’s solutions are based on the firm’s flagship ADMServer Framework software suite. As one of the largest providers of ACORD-based transactions and DTCC solutions, Blue Frog currently provides ADMServer solutions to more than 60 percent of the top 40 life and annuity companies and many of the largest distributors in the U.S.
More information about the AFFIRM for Annuities Compliance and Order Management System is available at: http://www.bluefrogsolutions.com/annuities.asp or Doug Massey at 954-788-0700 x216 dmassey@bluefrogsolutions.com
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Solutran Selects WAUSAU for Enhanced Payment Technology Capture Solution
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WAUSAU, the leading provider of distributed payment and document processing solutions, has extended its strategic partnership with Solutran, a national leader in check conversion and ACH processing including deposit processing, accounts receivable conversion, disbursement and return processing services. Solutran will utilize WAUSAU’s Optima3® technology to enhance their item capture process, thereby increasing their operational efficiency.
The WAUSAU Optima3® solution provides Solutran the opportunity to take advantage of advanced recognition techniques, reduced keying and improved control. The WAUSAU offering will enhance Solutran's operational functions such as account balance information, fund transfers and consolidation of depository funds information from multiple locations. In addition to the standard proven technology, WAUSAU provided enhanced customization to fulfill the unique payment environment Solutran required.
“The addition of WAUSAU’s Optima3® application enhances capture efficiencies,” said Barry Nordstrand, Solutran President & CEO. “As the industry moves toward complete electronification of payments, this integration will provide enormous benefits by augmenting our operational processing.”
“The WAUSAU Optima3® software enables Solutran to further streamline their payment processing,” said Steve Buchberger, Senior Vice President – Payment Solutions, WAUSAU. “We are excited about the opportunity to further enhance our relationship with Solutran.”
About Solutran
For over 20 years, Solutran has provided a full range of treasury management solutions to corporations and financial institutions. Solutran's customized solutions span the payment spectrum, from paper check processing and conversion to fully electronic payment processing. Services offered include depository processing, accounts receivable truncation, controlled disbursement services and returned check management and conversion services. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Solutran maintains relationships with ten affiliate-processing centers across the United States and Canada. For more information, visit Solutran’s website at www.solutran.com.
About WAUSAU
WAUSAU is a premier provider of payment and remittance processing solutions. Wausau serves businesses of all types to develop strategies that move money faster. With its products, services and consulting, WAUSAU works with customers to speed check processing, electronic presentment, ACH payments, transaction processing, distributed capture and enterprise content management. WAUSAU’s innovative solutions provide results for a wide range of organizations including financial institutions, insurance companies, utilities, retail businesses and governmental agencies. Find more information about WAUSAU at www.wausaufs.com.
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Open Solutions’ Louis Hernandez Selected as One of Bank Technology News’ Top 25 Innovators and Inducted into Hall of Fame
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Chairman and CEO’s progressive approach to core and information processing gains industry recognition
Open Solutions Inc., a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial service providers across the United States, Canada and international markets, announced that Open Solutions Chairman and CEO Louis Hernandez, Jr. was selected by Bank Technology News as one of “The Innovators 2007,” an annual ranking of the 25 most advanced people, companies and technologies in the financial industry. Hernandez was also one of the first 10 inductees into The Innovators’ Hall of Fame. Recognized for his aggressive and innovative approach to open-architecture core processing technology strategies, Hernandez’s vision has led Open Solutions to become one of the premier providers within the financial services marketplace with a global base of more than 5,800 clients, 2,100 employees and revenues of more than half a billion dollars.
“Innovation continues to affect the way that banks operate and address emerging opportunities around the globe,” said Holly Sraeel, editor in chief of Bank Technology News. “The impact of technology on financial institutions has altered the way they interact with customers, giving retail, small businesses and large corporations access to a vast array of choices on how, when and where they conduct their financial business.” The full ranking is featured in the November 2007 issue of the publication, and the entire list can be viewed at www.banktechnews.com.
The magazine recognized Hernandez’s competitive spirit and credited his vast experience with technology start-up companies for much of the success garnered at Open Solutions while under his leadership. Hernandez and his experienced senior management team continue to lead the company as it focuses on addressing the broadening technology needs of financial intuitions throughout the world. Open Solutions continues to provide the types of innovative products and services that financial institutions need to better compete in today’s highly competitive financial services industry. Further setting Open Solutions apart in the marketplace is the company’s innovative leading-edge open relational technology architecture, real-time processing capabilities and full featured product line.
Earlier this year, Bank Technology News magazine recognized Open Solutions as one of the “Ten Technology Companies to Watch.” Additionally, under Hernandez’s leadership, Open Solutions was recognized by both American Banker and the Wall Street Journal as a leading technology provider in the financial services sector. The company has been named to the Connecticut Technology Council’s Fast 50; the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500; and American Banker and Financial Insights’ FinTech 100.
Open Solutions Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Louis Hernandez, Jr., said, “I am honored to be recognized as one of this year’s top Innovators and to be inducted into the Innovators Hall of Fame. I am proud to be part of such an innovative and progressive organization as Open Solutions as we continue to demonstrate our commitment to develop, enhance and deploy innovative products that help our clients operate more efficiently and strategically. Despite our rapid and dramatic growth, we maintain a personal approach and provide customized service that our clients have come to depend upon and on which our reputation was built. I share this recognition with our entire staff and client family who have embraced technology as an innovative means to solve traditional business challenges and optimize operational processes.”
About Open Solutions Inc.
Open Solutions Inc. offers a fully featured strategic information management product platform that integrates core data processing applications built on a single centralized Oracle relational database, with Internet banking, cash management, CRM/business intelligence, financial accounting and management tools, profitability tools, wealth management, imaging, digital documents, interactive voice response, network services, HSAs, payments and loan origination solutions. Open Solutions’ full suite of products and services allows banks, thrifts, credit unions and financial services providers in the United States, Canada and internationally to better compete in today’s aggressive financial services marketplace, and expand and tap their trusted financial relationships, client affinity, community presence and personalized service.
For more information about Open Solutions or its financial product line, contact Mickey Goldwasser by email at mgoldwasser@opensolutions.com or by phone at 860.652.3153 or via fax at 860.652.3156. Visit Open Solutions’ Internet site at www.opensolutions.com.
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Brian O'Keefe Joins Panopticon as Director of Product Management
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Industry veteran with over 20 years experience in financial services and information visualization applications support expanding sales and development efforts
Panopticon Software, the leading provider of visual business intelligence software, announced that Brian O'Keefe has joined the firm in the position of Director of Product Management. He will focus on Panopticon's Visual Business Intelligence and real-time streaming analytics products and will help support the company's expanding sales and development efforts.
Before joining Panopticon, O'Keefe was Director of Financial Analytics of Tibco's Spotfire Division. He has 20 years' experience in financial services, including the management of an institutional portfolio at Putnam Investments where he also traded foreign currencies, futures, bonds, equities and derivatives. In addition, Brian held positions as Director of Sales at a leading alternative trading system (ATS) company and Director of Sales at a Direct Market Access (DMA) electronic broker. His broad experience spans proprietary trading within banks to selling software and services to financial institutions.
O'Keefe stated, "Analysts, portfolio managers and traders have looked to Panopticon's suite of visual applications to gain major competitive advantages and the company has been very successful in that world. I also see many applications for Panopticon's real-time information visualization tools in other industries, including telecom, insurance and pharmaceuticals. Industries are collecting data at fast-increasing rates while reporting and traditional business intelligence tools are falling short on their promises to deliver insights to business users. Panopticon closes this gap by aggregating disparate data stores then delivering customized data sets into a single application for fast, effective visual analysis."
Robert Ekström, CEO at Panopticon Software, said: "Brian brings a wealth of experience to our company. With the significant growth of demand we are seeing from our customers and our OEM partners to use our solution to better manage risk and monitor performance of their businesses, Brian will be instrumental in ensuring that upcoming product releases meets that demand. He will be a key member of our management team as we reach out to more customers."
Panopticon offers Visual Business Intelligence software for financial institutions, telecommunications firms and other organizations that must make decisions based on very large datasets and real-time streaming data feeds. The company offers a variety of enterprise and desktop products as well as a comprehensive SDK that allows clients to integrate Panopticon's visualization technology with their own systems and workflows. Panopticon and its clients have won several technology awards from Euromoney and The Banker for their implementations of Panopticon technology. Clients include JP Morgan, Fidelity, Louis Dreyfus, Reuters, and Citi. The company has offices in New York, London and Stockholm.
For more information, contact:
In Europe:
Robert Ekström, CEO, email:
In the US:
Panopticon Software USA, The Chrysler Center, 405 Lexington, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10174 USA
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Information Strategies for Insurers in a Mobile Workforce Era
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Enterprise content management expert available to discuss
insurance data management issues for 2008
WHAT: The increasing mobility of the workforce places new demands on insurance technology decision makers. With the popularity of mobile communication devices, connectivity between field workers (remote claims adjusters, sales offices), policyholders and operation centers has become paramount. Insurers will require the capability to complete forms and synchronize data and content regardless of geographic location.
Insurers are also looking for one-stop access to data about a policy or claim, which will require standard data integration models to optimize information flows.To address better data integration, some ECM vendors are developing joint partnerships with leading policy and claims administration providers. This integration through strategic partnerships is making data exchange simpler and easier for insurers.
WHO: Ed McQuiston is the director of insurance and healthcare solutions for Hyland Software, developer of OnBase enterprise content management (ECM) software suite, chosen by more than 200 insurers worldwide. McQuiston can provide expert commentary on 2008 insurance trends including:
· The increasing mobility of workforces placing new demands on insurance technology.
· The emergence of data integration models to optimize information flows.
· The efficiency of self-service delivery models within the broker/dealer network, making it easier and faster for brokers to conduct business and get paid; thus developing more loyalty to insurers who make it easy to book business.
McQuiston is responsible for Hyland’s continued growth as an industry leader in the insurance marketplace. He has more than 12 years of experience assisting insurance and healthcare organizations in the areas of document management and workflow, business process management, strategic planning, executive decision support, project management and information system design. McQuiston has been engaged to present as an ECM expert at numerous trade associations as well as state agencies.
WHEN: McQuiston is available immediately for commentary.
CONTACT: Carol Kennemore
For Hyland Software
(678) 781-7205
About Hyland Software Insurance Solutions
Hyland Software Inc. is the developer of OnBase, a rapidly deployable suite of enterprise content management (ECM) software applications. OnBase is a modular suite of ECM applications that includes document imaging, workflow, electronic document management, COLD/ERM and records management. OnBase allows insurance carriers, managed general agents, and third party administrators to streamline processes and improve service levels across the enterprise, including strategic areas such as new business, underwriting, claims, regulatory compliance support and customer service. For more information about OnBase, please contact an Authorized OnBase Solution Provider or visit www.onbase.com.
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WAUSAU Climbs in Rankings of Top 100 Providers of Financi | | |