The Banking Industry Technology Secretariat has formed a strategic alliance with the Financial Services Technology Consortium.
The groups have common goals and roots among some of the biggest U.S. banking companies. The announcement comes fast on the heels of the secretariat's hiring of a chief executive officer and could signal a closer relationship-even a consolidation-in the future.
"We want to send a message that we are moving fast," said Catherine A. Allen, who became CEO of the Washington-based secretariat, known as Bits, last month. "The mutual benefits are substantial."
Bits was organized last year by the Bankers Roundtable, which represents the 125 largest banks, with support from the American Bankers Association and Independent Bankers Association of America.
The Financial Services Technology Consortium, or FSTC, was organized four years ago by Citicorp, where Ms. Allen then worked. She spent most of her time organizing the Smart Card Forum, which was well established when she left Citi last year to form the Santa Fe Group, a consulting firm.
FSTC's members include several of the largest banking companies, such as Banc One Corp., Chase Manhattan Corp., and Huntington Bancshares. They overlap with the Bankers Roundtable, as do many with the Bits board.
While FSTC marshals associates in the vendor and research communities to explore new technologies, Bits is focused on preserving banks' central role in payment systems and customer relationships.
They will initially cooperate on a broad white paper on the payment system "meta-architecture" and will examine technical standards like Integrion Gold, OFX, and Java, and how they fit with Bits' desire for interoperability.
Officials from both camps seemed amenable to a close partnership that could lead to something more formal.
"The first step is the strategic alliance," Ms. Allen said. Future FSTC projects will focus on "the business requirements and business initiatives that evolve from Bits."
"It's healthy that they (Bits) will come in and say, 'These are the issues and concerns,'" said Daniel Schutzer, vice president at Citicorp and president of FSTC. "We are taking it one step at a time ... We have mutual objectives."
