INTERNATIONAL BYTES

The China Financial Certification Authority (CFCA), a joint venture of 13 leading commercial banks under the direct leadership of the People's Bank of China, will use enhanced Internet security solution from Entrust, Inc., to enable safe and secure online transactions for corporate banking customer and Chinese stock traders.

The project, which includes Entrust enhanced Internet security solutions running on a Sun Microsystems platform, will also enable the Chinese banking system to implement secure e-commerce activities, such as Internet banking, business-to-business transactions, online electronic bill payment and online brokerage services.

The CFCA plans to issue more than 100,000 digital certificates or IDs over the next six months to corporate banking customers and Chinese stock traders who perform online transactions valued at over $1 billion.

The CFCA is the largest secure e-commerce infrastructure effort ever undertaken in China.

"We highly value the security offered by Entrust's Internet security solution," said Liu Da Long, general manager, CFCA. "Based on the success of our initial pilot, we are now ready to expand production to support a broad range of e-commerce payment functions in the capital region around Beijing and at many other location in China."

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HypoVereinsbank, Germany, has installed voice trading technology from Syntegra at its key trading centers in London.

Syntegra's ITS voice trading system can interface with other existing systems, and features a host of applications that allow functions such as having customer account information automatically displayed on a trader's monitor during a call.

"Cost, superior local support, and rapid response times were all key factors in the decision to implement the Syntegra solution," said David Ellis, International IT consultant for HypoVereinsbank. "In addition, the inherent scalability of Syntegra's voice trading platform allows us to easily upgrade and expand out trading operation as required, delivering the innovative technology infrastructure that will help our traders act quickly and effectively in such a fast-changing market."

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Banco del Bajio, Mexico, has become the first Mexican bank to offer online foreign exchange (FX) trading to its corporate client base.

The bank's new service, called BBFX Cambios, is now being used by approximately 600 clients. This online FX service is powered by AutoDeal LITE, an ASP-based FX and money market dealing service provided by Cognotec. The ASP structure enabled BBFX Cambios to go live less than three months after contacts were signed.

"We believe that the way to stay ahead of the competition is to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace by enhancing the service levels we are able to offer our clients," said Jorge Iglesias, director of FX, Banco del Bajio. "Our Web-based initiatives are central to this strategy, but we found little interest among solutions providers in helping us achieve this goal until we contacted Cognotec."

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The Zurich Financial Service Group has standardized its customer service operations in Switzerland on Siebel Financial Services.

Using Siebel Financial Services, a tailored version of Siebel eBusiness Applications, the company has introduced a single customer interface to manage, synchronize and coordinate customer interactions across multiple channels to ensure maximum consumer satisfaction and loyalty. The company has deployed the system in six regional customer centers.