The contract also includes renewal of the banks’ core banking and payment areas. This agreement is a continuation of the current collaboration on a complete portfolio of banking solutions that will support the four banks as they seek to develop the best digital solutions in the market - irrespective of the channel used.

“The banks intend to take an aggressive approach to addressing the banking market of the future. It is essential for us to offer our customers user-friendly banking services and our employees future-oriented banking solutions. At the same time, investing in next generation core banking and payment services is an important strategic step. The contract will ensure that we have a flexible and cost-effective infrastructure, which will also mean we can take new services to the market more quickly”, comments Geir Bergskaug, CEO of Sparebanken Sør.

“Our collaboration with these four banks has developed over many years, and we are very proud to have received a renewed vote of confidence from them. This is an important milestone in our strategic investment in developing and delivering next generation core banking and payment solutions. The banking sector is one of EVRY’s most important growth areas. These new solutions will make the banks much more able to address a dynamic market characterised by the increasing demand for new services from bank customers”, comments Terje Mjøs, CEO of EVRY.

EVRY signed similar contracts in the summer with the SpareBank 1 Alliance and Sparebanken Vest. These contracts together represent total contract value of around NOK 4 billion.

“The three contracts we have entered into in 2014 for next generation core banking and payment solutions confirm that the solutions we offer are very competitive. They also give us a strong starting point for further growth in these areas in the Nordic region in the years to come”, comments Terje Mjøs.

Future-oriented banking solutions EVRY is establishing its new core banking solution as a service platform using industry-standard components. The transition will be achieved through step-by-step adoption of a defined architecture. This approach ensures a controlled transition to a state-of-the-art and cost-effective platform.

EVRY’s development strategy and implementation methodology are firmly based on the company’s close involvement in the Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN). EVRY is the only Nordic member of this network. EVRY’s new solutions apply state-of-the-art architecture and standards, including ISO 20022. This ensures that the solutions can be used in international markets, and are flexible and cost-effective, as well as being adapted for international requirements.

About the contract The new contract comes into effect on 1 January 2015 and runs until 31 December 2019. The contract includes an option to extend for a further two years. The contract represents total contract value over five years of about NOK 1.2 billion.

Sparebanken Sør, Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane, Helgeland Sparebank and Gjensidige Bank are four independent Norwegian banks. The four banks negotiated the agreement through a joint procurement collaboration.