UK direct bank Intelligent Finance (IF) has signed a new five year contract with Attentiv Systems - formerly known as Lynx Financial Systems - for the ongoing development and support of its mortgage, savings and balance offsetting systems.
The new contract is an extension of an existing deal between IF and Lynx Financial Systems, signed in 2001, for the development and implementation of a customised back office processing engine for offset banking products.
A key requirement of the original system was the ability to support the bank's offset mortgage products, where customers are able to use interest from savings accounts to reduce their mortgage interest liability.
Mike Gannon, head of IT at IF, says the new deal "reflects the importance of the Attentiv system within our existing architecture. It will also enable us to accurately forecast IT spend, negotiate a cost-effective pricing structure and move forward with development plans for new products and services."
Gannon says the contract also includes Attentiv's consultancy services.
David Webber, CEO of Attentiv, comments: "We're starting to see a growing interest in more lengthy contracts, which until now have been rare in this sector, with many organisations now looking for long-term predictability of costs."
IF is leery about publicising the value of the deal, but City gossip suggests that the contract could be worth approximately ten per cent of the vendor's annual turnover of £26 million for the each of the five years it is in force.
Attentiv Systems is the holding company of Lynx Financial Systems and recently announced plans to seek a listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.