According to the contract, the three banks will form a utility called Vipro Pty to manage the relationship with Fiserv, who will aim to offer the group day one cheque processing and image archive services starting from April 2005.
Wisconsin-based Fiserv will supply Vipro with proof-of-deposit, image capture, locked box processing, image archive services and capture-related exception processing with the aim of helping the banks reduce costs, gain economies of scale and secure new technological capabilities.
Fiserv hopes to begin managing operations in six Australian cities in the second quarter for Commonwealth and National, and will begin processing for Westpac in the second half of 2005 as Fiserv consolidates into common operating centers and a common technology platform in each Australian state. The three banks currently process approximately 800 million prime pass items a year.
Fiserv will offer jobs to cheque processing employees of both Commonwealth and National who work in contracted service areas. It will also implement a single image archive for all three banks and consolidate day one capture facilities in each Australian state in an attempt to produce cost efficiency and enable other operating efficiencies and enhanced product opportunities for each of the banks.
The agreement will mean that both the National and CBA will no longer be performing cheque processing in house, while Westpac had previously outsourced its cheque processing services to UPSL.
Andrew Carriline, Westpac general manager, strategic sourcing, said: The arrangement is a sensible response to declining cheque usage in Australia. By combining the volumes of the three banks we can ensure customers benefit from modern technology and systems and that these are introduced and maintained in a cost-effective manner.
