Solution delivers real-time instant payment functionality for banks and payment service providers, along with anti-money laundering and anti-fraud capabilities

CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) today announced the launch of a new high performance, real-time Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) instant credit transfer solution. Developed by a team of CGI experts in the Czech Republic, the solution is designed for banks and payment service providers in Europe seeking to implement SEPA instant credit transfers, as defined by the European Payments Council’s SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) Rulebook.

“We are introducing this solution in response to wide interest by banks and payment service providers across Europe in the SCT Inst scheme,” said CGI’s Jerry Norton, Vice-President, Global Financial Services. “Enabling our financial services clients to adopt real-time payments quickly and at low cost is a key driver behind CGI’s payments modernization strategy. We are now able to provide our clients with a high performance solution that supports full real-time processing while minimizing the impact on existing bank payment infrastructures and core banking systems.”

CGI’s SEPA Real-Time (SRT) solution will connect to EBA CLEARING’s pan-European instant payment infrastructure service, the first of its kind in Europe’s Eurozone, and CGI is a “Front Runner Provider” within the EBA CLEARING Technical Service Provider Program. As a Front Runner Provider, CGI’s financial services clients across Europe will be among the first to have access to instant credit transfer technology for the benefit of both their corporate and consumer customers. It is envisaged that other SCT Instclearing and settlement mechanisms (CSMs) will be supported by CGI SRT as they come to market.

The CGI SRT solution provides a real-time payment service for both originating and beneficiary banks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It includes numerous options, including CGI’s Protect the Bank solution, which provides anti-money laundering and real-time fraud protection through transaction monitoring. CGI SRT uses state-of-the-art (open source) technologies, eliminating the high costs normally required for third-party licences.

“CGI’s SRT solution is truly flexible and can support many different implementation scenarios,” added Norton. “It can run as a standalone/independent system for real-time processing, or it can complement a bulk SEPA processing engine, which is already implemented in a bank. In addition, it can be delivered as part of the CGI All Payments solutions for clients that intend to enhance or replace their existing payments processing infrastructure.”

CGI is a recognized IT leader in the financial services industry, serving clients across 5 continents, including 23 of the top 25 banks in the Americas and 21 of the top 25 banks in Europe. Its payment experts have played a key role in the setup, modernization and running of national payment infrastructures in more than 20 countries over the past 15 years.