9 Mar 2009 07:00
9 March 2009
Earthport plc
("Earthport") or ("the Company")
New regulatory change to bring exciting opportunities
Earthport, the global payments utility, is pleased to announce its PSD (Payments Services Directive) Readiness Roadmap at today's International Payments Summit in Hong Kong.
As a provider of on-demand payments and collections services, Earthport plc must be compliant with the PSD. Ahead of the Nov 2009 deadline, Earthport is reviewing its systems and processes, and is undertaking the necessary steps to meet all aspects of the new regulatory criteria, and expects that it will deliver ahead of schedule.
"The PSD imposes on all payments providers features and service levels which Earthport has been providing to its customers for some time, including unique transaction identifiers, separation of transactional and FX charges, and delivery period" says Neil Burton, Director of Product Service Strategy.
In the current commercial climate, Earthport expects that banks and financial institutions will increasingly turn to providers of 'Banking as a Service' to avoid unnecessary capital expenditure and project complexity whilst providing a faster speed to Market. Earthport's on-demand payments and collections services enables banks to meet the new compliance regime, and also to access relatively untapped sources of deposits including remittances, international retail transfers, and low to medium value open account trade payments. This represents an increased business opportunity for Earthport. Earthport's reach into more than 50 countries and territories, coupled with its high operational efficiency exemplified by its better than 99% STP (straight-through processing) rate for cross border transfers, enables its customers to brand and deliver high volume, transparent payments services to their target markets;
James Bergman, Chief Executive of Earthport commented:
"The PSD validates Earthport as a fully regulated service provider. Corporate and retail customers will get features they have sought for years. We very much welcome the increased regulatory oversight and the business opportunity that it generates."
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For further details, please contact:
| Earthport plc James Bergman, Chief Executive Officer Mike Harrison, Executive Chairman Neil Burton, Director of Product Service Strategy | +44 (0)20 7220 9700 |
| Cenkos Securities plc Nicholas Wells / Elizabeth Bowman | +44 (0)20 7397 8900 |
| Financial Dynamics Jonathon Brill / Alex Beagley / Laura Proudlock | +44 (0)20 7831 3113 |
About Earthport
Earthport (www.earthport.com) specialises in the international transactional marketplace by providing a highly secure, high volume global collection and payment capability. It has been making national and international payments and collections since 1998.
Earthport owns, provides and hosts an international money movement platform called the Universal Payments Network. Using this platform, Earthport makes secure, low cost international bank payments and collections worldwide.