Headlines:
CheckFree Reports a Jump in Bill Pay Misys of U.K. Signs 10th Chinese Bank TSYS Has New Office in Madrid S1 Adds Flexibility to Lending Software Card Firm May Buy Eyewear Companies
CheckFree Reports a Jump in Bill Pay
Sixty-nine percent of Americans who use the Internet pay at least one bill online, according to a December survey for CheckFree Corp., the leading provider of such services.
That was up from 56% from a March 2005 survey, the Atlanta company said last week. In fact, among those with Internet access, online bill pay has nearly caught up with checks, it said; 35% of their bills are paid online, versus 37.5% by check.
The survey results also seem to suggest that receiving bills online through a consolidator like CheckFree or a bank site increases customer satisfaction. Among those who pay online, those who also get bills that way recommend online payment to friends 58% more often than those who do not, it found.
The survey, conducted in December by Harris Interactive Inc. and The Marketing Workshop Inc., involved 2,230 adults with online access.
Misys of U.K. Signs 10th Chinese Bank
China Bohai Bank is using risk management and treasury management software from Misys PLC, of London.
Misys announced the deal last week and said China Bohai is the 10th Chinese bank to use its software.
It is using Misys' Opics software for automating its transaction processing.
Opics can analyze exchange rates, interest rates, and cash flow, and the Opics Risk module can improve a bank's risk management capabilities, Misys said.
China Bohai, which was formed in February in Tianjin, plans to expand into the Yangtze River delta and the Pearl River delta regions next year.
"We have very dynamic plans for this bank and need robust, state-of-the-art treasury systems to help us drive growth," said Liu Zheng Quan, its chief information officer, in a press release. Using the same software as other Chinese banks will make it easier to trade with them, he said.
TSYS Has New Office in Madrid
The Columbus, Ga., transaction processor Total System Services Inc. has opened a new sales office in Madrid and says European banking companies are outsourcing more processing.
The Madrid office will focus on developing new customer relationships in the region and is "a key component of our strategy to expand across Europe," said Jose-Luis Rojas, TSYS' director of business expansion for southern European operations, in a press release last week.
Many major European bank are considering outsourcing because competition has shrunk their profit margins in processing, the company said.
It predicted that banking companies worldwide will spend 10% more on technology outsourcing this year than last.
S1 Adds Flexibility to Lending Software
The latest version of S1 Corp.'s consumer and business lending software accommodates regional variations in a lender's policies.
Another new feature is that multiple origination servers can tap a common database.
The Atlanta company announced the upgrades of its Consumer Lending, Business Lending, Lending Docs, and Credit Origination Server applications last week.
Card Firm May Buy Eyewear Companies
Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc., which sells prepaid and loyalty cards and handles transactions on them, is negotiating to buy two Canadian eyewear companies.
The San Antonio company said Thursday that it expects the Ontario deals to complement its EyeSavingsPlus.com loyalty card program, which is aimed at the optical industry.
