FIS Helps Finland’s Luottokunta in Expansion Drive to Become the Leading Card Payment Services Company in the Baltic Sea Region
Systems expected to handle upwards of 2.3 billion transactions annually by 2011
For additional information contact:
Marcia Danzeisen, SVP, Global Marketing and Communications
Phone: 904.854.5083, Email: marcia.danzeisen@fisglobal.com
Mary Waggoner, SVP, Investor Relations
Phone: 904.854.3282, Email: mary.waggoner@fisglobal.com
Tony Martin, EMEA Contact, Portfolio Communications
Phone: +44 (0)207240 6959, Email: tony.martin@portfoliocomms.com
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - (Oct. 27, 2009) - FIS™, one of the world's largest providers of banking and payments technology, today announced that Luottokunta has gone live with the FIS IST/Merchant Accounting & Settlement solution, to support its expansion drive to become the leading card payment service company in the Baltic Sea Region.
“Luottokunta is already Finland's largest card payment services company but we are seeking new customers in the banking, merchant and corporate sectors - and also to expand our operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries. We support the global growth efforts of customers by developing and providing new service solutions across geographic boundaries and it is essential that we have in place the very best software and IT infrastructure, as is the case with FIS' IST solution set,” said Heikki Kapanen, chief executive officer, Luottokunta.
“The FIS enterprise payment solutions are outstanding in terms of flexibility and scalability, allowing them to be customized extensively to meet the specific needs and complexities of our business operation,” adds Kapanen.
Luottokunta has a strong long-term partnership with FIS going back to 2002, during which the company has become one of the most comprehensive users of FIS systems. In addition to FIS IST/Merchant Accounting & Settlement, Luottokunta also utilizes FIS IST/Clearing and FIS IST/Switch.
It is anticipated that these systems will handle, in total, upwards of 2.3 billion transactions a year by 2011, as Luottokunta's lines of business continue to go live and volumes increase.
FIS' expert teams are collaborating closely on a phased roll-out of the systems with Luottokunta's IT staff, using a sophisticated FIS model combining on-shore, near-shore and off-shore resources.
“This is a significant commitment, drawing on FIS staffing contributions and support services from around the globe. Currently, there are more than four dozen FIS team members working in-country, and from Canada and India, to ensure smooth integration with Luottokunta's corporate IT infrastructure,” commented Mark Davey, executive vice president, FIS International business. “It is an excellent testament to the mutual benefit of both Luottokunta and FIS of working together in a strategic long-term partnership built over the last seven years.”
FIS IST/Merchant Accounting & Settlement enables integration of payment transaction processing with back-office accounting and general ledger systems, while FIS IST/Clearing ensures that authorized payments are credited to merchant accounts, and cardholder accounts are debited accordingly. FIS IST/Switch is an open systems payment engine that handles payment authorization processing.
About Luottokunta
Luottokunta is a full-service card payment company whose core services comprise card issuing, the management of more than 60 different card schemes, and acquiring and payment transaction processing services. Luottokunta offers Visa and Business Eurocard payment solutions, as well as interbank, voucher and payment terminal services. In 2008, total sales generated by cards included in Luottokunta's Visa and MasterCard schemes reached EUR 15.3 billion. At the end of 2008, the company employed 450 people.
About FIS
FIS delivers banking and payments technologies to more than 14,000 financial institutions and businesses in more than 90 countries worldwide. FIS provides financial institution core processing, and card issuer and transaction processing services, including the NYCE Network. FIS maintains processing and technology relationships with 40 of the top 50 global banks, including nine of the top 10. FIS is a member of Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 Index and consistently holds a leading ranking in the annual FinTech 100 rankings. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., FIS employs approximately 30,000 on a global basis. FIS is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the “FIS” ticker symbol. For more information about FIS see www.fisglobal.com.
FIS is a registered trademark of Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements related to FIS's future plans and expectations, and, as such, constitutes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown events, risks, uncertainties and other factors that, individually or in the aggregate, may cause actual results to be different from those expressed within this press release. The material risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, risks detailed from time to time in the reports and filings made by FIS with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that are available on the SEC's web site located at www.sec.gov. Readers are strongly urged to read the full cautionary statements contained in those materials. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.
