Microsoft Corp. says a customized corporate payment system it codeveloped with Monte dei Paschi di Siena Group has allowed the Italian bank holding company to reduce its transaction processing costs.
The Redmond, Wash., technology company said Thursday that MPS Group has reduced the time needed to handle business-to-business electronic payments from a few days to close to real-time, cutting costs by more than half. Corporate customers also have better visibility of their transactions and improved cash management capabilities.
The corporate payments system was developed by Microsoft, MPS Group, the Dutch technology company Getronics NV, and Avanade Inc., Microsoft's consulting joint venture with Accenture.
The payments application meets the requirements of the Single Euro Payment Area, a continentwide financial system expected to go live next year. MPS Group is using the system in at three bank subsidiaries: Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banca Toscana, and Banca Agricola.
