OCBC Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in Asia, has signed a significant contract with Oslo-based Commercial Banking Applications AS (CBA) and its partner for Asia/Pacific, BCS Information System Pte Ltd (BCSIS), for the delivery of IBAS GPF – Global Payments Factory (IBAS GPF) to the banking group.  The contract covers the full range of payments products.  The Norwegian supplier’s IBAS system will be used to run OCBC’s payment systems in Singapore and Malaysia.

OCBC Bank underwent a meticulous review of its needs for a new payments engine in order to cater for the rapid business growth in the Asia region area.  This also coincides with the Bank’s increased presence and expansion in the region.  OCBC Bank conducted a detailed evaluation process whereby several renowned software packages and vendors were thoroughly assessed.  “We at CBA are very proud that OCBC Bank has chosen our IBAS product; a very modern and extremely flexible package solution that will enable the bank to adapt IBAS to suit its requirements with a modest amount of customisation.”  said Rolf Hauge, President & CEO of CBA.

The IBAS GPF is expected to go into production at the bank’s Singapore operations within the next 12 months.  Thereafter, IBAS GPF will be implemented at the bank’s operations in Malaysia.  The contract also gives OCBC the option to extend the IBAS GPF in Indonesia, Vietnam, China and possibly several other countries.

With IBAS, OCBC Bank will achieve one single global payments platform, covering all areas of payments for the entire Bank – a significant breakthrough in the banking industry in Asia.

Rolf Hauge is pleased with the new contract and sees this as a major breakthrough for the IBAS solution in the Asia/Pacific:
“Today, after 5-6 years of development, the IBAS GBF is ready for the global market; it’s proven in production at several major banks – with outstanding results.  We have built it, you can see it, and you can test it, plus it guarantees banks around the world the promised results, as well as having a reputation for fast implementations.”

“With this new contract and through its partnership with BCSIS, CBA has opened the door to the Asian market.  Together with BCSIS, CBA looks forward to a fruitful cooperation with OCBC Bank, and other banks in the region.”  He added.

Mr Sam Tan, General Manager (Products) of BCSIS echoes the upbeat sentiments.  “Like CBA, BCSIS is very happy to be involved in assisting OCBC Bank in acquiring and implementing the modern and flexible payments system from CBA.  BCSIS is also very excited about the new partnership with CBA which presents new opportunities for banks in the Asia/Pacific region.  This new partnership marks a significant milestone in our efforts to extend our value offerings to commercial bank customers.”
Sam continued, “Together with CBA, we look forward to a successful project with OCBC Bank.”

IBAS today comprises a modular suite of products, encompassing functions such as Trade Finance, Account Management Systems, Loan Administration, Clean Payments, Factoring and Forex & Money Market.  The software functionality is based on a single core system, which uses a series of integrated common tables, rules and objects, presented within an efficient and user-friendly graphical user interface.

IBAS is Java-based; platform independent, and can integrate with any existing bank operating systems, including Unix and Windows.  IBAS uses industry standard SQL databases, and only requires the installation of a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to facilitate the IBAS Application Server and Web based User Interfaces.  An optional Web server can be installed to facilitate access to the Java Applets and HTML documents.

IBAS’s operational stability and STP message processing rates have already been proven in existing installations, and have resulted in IBAS being the only banking software to currently hold the SWIFTReady Gold label in the Multi-Market category.

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