Sanchez Computer Associates Inc. has licensed its core processing system, Profile/Anyware, to Credit Union Central of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Credit Union Central, a cooperative, represents 61 credit unions. The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, brings the number of Canadian credit unions running on Sanchez Computer software to 200.
Other organizations using the software include CUE Datawest in British Columbia, Pacific Coast Savings Credit Union, also in British Columbia, and Credit Union Central of Manitoba.
CUE Datawest will help Credit Union Central install the software and will operate the system's Saskatchewan-based data center.
Sanchez Computer also has a system running at ING Direct Bank in Ontario, a unit of the Dutch ING Groep.
ING Direct opened for business this year and said it has been using Profile/Anyware without a hitch.
"We chose Profile as our banking platform for two reasons: One, its flexibility of speed and product design, and two, its ability to speak a number of different languages, which is important for us here with French and English in Canada," said Jim Kelly, ING Direct's vice president of marketing.
ING Groep, which has $232 billion in assets, is considering installing Profile/Anyware in its other affiliates. The bank operates units in 60 countries.
Sanchez executives said the prospect of a larger deal with ING is in keeping with its current marketing strategy.
"Lately, we've been targeting larger institutions," said Michael Sanchez, chairman and chief executive officer of Sanchez Computer, which is based in Malvern, Pa.
He added that the company is "reentering the U.S. market" by targeting the top 20 North American banks.
He said opportunities abound at these banks because "not one has an integrated back-office environment." Instead the large U.S. banks have legacy systems which they are mixing with new software at the front end.
"That's a strategic mistake," Mr. Sanchez said.
In addition to the United States and Canada, Sanchez Computer is trying to establish footholds in Central Europe and Asia.
"What makes us different," Mr. Sanchez said, "is our host production system, which is channel- and client-independent."
Sanchez Computer uses an electronic software manufacturing architecture that Mr. Sanchez said helps ensure consistency in its products no matter where they are delivered.
Banks in 10 countries have installed Profile/Anyware. Sanchez has offices in Warsaw, Prague, Lisbon, and Jakarta.
"Our system is easily adaptable to foreign markets because it's on-line and real-time, multilanguage, multicurrency, and customer-centric," Mr. Sanchez said.
It is well-suited for use in the United States because the "U.S. bank systems grew up around the batch system but now as new banking channels explode, it's all happening in real time," he said.
Pacific Coast Savings' chief executive officer, Doug Enns, said the Profile system helped the credit union arm its staff with information it needed to improve its selling. "We were looking for a change in our business operations," said Mr. Enns.
