Fin-Force, a joint venture established by Belgium's KBC and EDS, is teaming with DZ Bank's subsidiary Transaktionsinstitut to deliver cross-border payments processing services to financial firms in Europe.
Initially, Fin-Force will start processing Transaktioninstitut's international payment transactions - except for intra-European euro payments - early next year. Germany's DZ subsidiary will in turn process Fin-Force's intra-European payments, in euros, beginning in 2006.
Under the agreement, DZ Bank will acquire 10% of Fin-Force, reducing KBC's stake in the business to 85% and EDS' share to five per cent. In turn KBC will receive five per cent of Transaktionsinstitut.
The partners expect other financial firms to outsource payment processing and sign up to the cross border service following the establishment of the Single Euro Payments Area (Sepa).
Commenting on the deal, Michael Steinbach, CEO, Transaktionsinstitut, says: "The benefits will include savings on processing expenses due to larger processing quantities and a higher market share in the respective transaction areas for both companies."
Herman Agneessens, MD, KBC Bank, adds: "We are convinced that an increasing number of European financial institutions will recognise our professionalism and advanced know-how in this field."
Fin-Force currently processes 328.3 million transactions per year, while Transaktionsinstitut handles over three billion, mainly domestic, transactions annually.