Case studies
Continued from page 6
Direct debit files collected from local
subsidiaries are centrally authorised and
transferred via SWIFT to all banks. Using
SWIFT, T-Mobile can for the first time run a
central platform with a single standard for
every country and every bank.
SVB
SVB is the organisation responsible for
running national insurance schemes in
the Netherlands, including the payment
of pensions. It has five million customers
and makes 40 million payments/year. To
strengthen its service, SVB implemented a
seven month project involving connection
to SWIFT via a service bureau and
selection of a bank partner for the scheme.
Successful testing of integration
and procedures was a critical project
deliverable and was overseen by a
steering committee with representatives
from the service bureau, the selected
bank and SWIFT. SVB now uses SWIFT
for its domestic flows. According to a
spokesman for SVP, “It is fast, secure and
has reduced our transaction costs.”
GDF Suez
One of the leading energy providers in the
world, GDF Suez set up a payment factory
in France for its gas related entity to handle
direct debits, commercial and salary
payments, cheque details and reporting
messages. The project began with the
installation of a treasury management
application, followed by bank selection and
SWIFT implementation and was completed
within nine months.
“SWIFT allows GDF Suez to manage
very large transaction volumes in a highly
secure and reliable yet flexible manner,”
says the company. “The new GDF Suez
Group has confirmed SWIFT as its single
banking communication channel.”
Visit swift.com/corporates for more information about SWIFT and its portfolio.
Join the dialogue at www.swiftcommunity.net/corporates
or email us at [email protected]
Streamlining
domestic
connections
PNC is one of the largest
diversified financial services
groups in the US. With
headquarters in Pittsburgh,
it is often referred to as a
‘superregional’, which The
American Banker defines
as a non-Money Centre
Bank ranking in the top
100 banking companies in
the United States.
Paul Trozzo, senior vice president and
product group manager for the electronic
funds transfer product group of PNC’s
Treasury Management division
aul Trozzo is a senior
vice president and
product group
manager for the
electronic funds
transfer product group of PNC’s
Treasury Management division.
His responsibilities include the
management and strategic planning of
electronic funds transfer products and
services to PNC’s business banking
and corporate and institutional banking
clients. He spoke to Corporates on
SWIFT about the range of customers
looking to streamline their bank
connectivity by using SWIFTNet.
P
Would it be fair to describe your
target customer base as ‘middle
market’ corporates?
We do focus much of our financial
service packaging and product
development on the middle market, but
we also have a strong presence among
Fortune 500 companies that have
multinational operations, but use PNC
for their US domestic banking service.
Working with both sets of clients, it’s
interesting to see where the similarities
are and where differences start to
appear in terms of sophistication and
complexity of banking needs.
Are there differing needs among
these segments that SWIFT can
help with?
Even though they may be smaller, I think
the challenges of the middle market
clients are in some respects as complex
as larger corporations. They may have
➧
Corporates on SWIFT
7
Case studies
fewer resources at their disposal to address
these challenges. With the realities of the
present economic climate all corporations
are trying to stretch their working capital to
apply it as efficiently as possible. Similar to
the large corporations, some of the middle
market clients are struggling to make sure
that they have the clearest possible visibility
of their cash to manage both liquidity and
counterparty risk. This has taken on an even
greater importance with the advent of the
credit market freeze.
Is there a minimum size threshold that
a client needs to reach before you’d
suggest signing up to SWIFT?
If you had asked me that question two
years ago, I would have said it was primarily
a solution for large multinationals. This
was not only a question of the cost of
ownership but also the type of technology
that large corporations had in place for the
management of their back offices, such as
enterprise resource planning systems and
robust treasury work stations. But since
that time, a number of clients that we would
typically characterise as being within the
small business segment have approached
us, enquiring about SWIFT-based services.
Several of them were, in fact, subsidiaries of
European multinationals.
Both Alliance Lite and the service bureau
models have made it easier for many of
these companies to look at SWIFT. I think
We work with a number of significant global enterprises
where we act as their US domestic provider. They’ve
been working with large global banks for their global
treasury needs, but now they’re turning to us and other
regional banks for their domestic services.
Paul Trozzo, PNC
the cost of ownership when the original
corporate access models were introduced
might have been prohibitive for a number
of these companies. At the same time, the
technology is really evolving to the point
where many of the more sophisticated
ERP systems and treasury workstation
providers are now offering hosted services
rather than ‘license, install and own’
services. As a result of this, it is easier to
move that type of technology downstream
into the middle market where SWIFT then
becomes a very natural complement to
integrating with those back offices as well
as with their banks. I think both Alliance
Lite and the service bureau models provide
a very compelling case to look at SWIFT
as a single connectivity communication
channel to all of a company’s banks.
What has been the impact on the
competitive environment for you?
We’re in a somewhat unique position as a
superregional bank with a strong presence
A number of clients that we would typically
characterise as being within the small business
segment have approached us, enquiring about
SWIFT-based services. Many of them were, in fact,
subsidiaries of European multinationals.
Paul Trozzo, PNC
8
Corporates on SWIFT
in the industry among clients of varying
sizes. As I mentioned earlier, we work with
a number of significant global enterprises
where we act as their US domestic
provider. They’ve been working with large
global banks for their global treasury needs,
but now they’re turning to PNC and other
banks that provide their domestic banking
services. The number of Fortune 500
clients that we have for domestic services
makes us unique amongst regional peers.
Are there any tips you’d offer a
corporate considering using SWIFT
that hasn’t yet made the leap?
I think before you get involved in examining
the range of alternatives, you need to
have a clear business plan and a clear set
of desired outcomes. You really need to
think about the factors that are driving you
towards that process. What’s missing from
your operations today? You should take a
look at the type of activity you plan to put
through the channel. That will help you
decide whether to connect directly to SWIFT
yourself, whether to go through a service
bureau or, if you don’t have a significant
amount of activity but are still looking to
consolidate the number of interfaces you
have or the number of banks you work with,
whether to consider Alliance Lite.
To benefit from SWIFT, companies don’t
necessarily need to be multinational. They
just need to be multi-banked.
Visit swift.com/corporates for more information about SWIFT and its portfolio.
Join the dialogue at www.swiftcommunity.net/corporates
or email us at [email protected]