The trend to Open Banking in real time continues: With a project in Hungary, a comprehensive solution package has been created for the customers of the Erste Bank Hungary. The subsidiary company of the Erste Bank Group Vienna operates one of the largest branch networks in Hungary. In addition to real-time payments around the clock, the customers can also use request-to-pay functions for making payment requests. valantic has implemented the technological basis for this. For more than 20 years, the FinTech company develops software for payment, investment banking and transaction management. With the customised solution on the basis of valantic’s Real Time Payment Engine (RTPE), Erste Bank Hungary now provides a modular structured payment hub solution. The development is based on regulations of the Central Bank of Hungary (MNB) which aim to promote the electronic processing of transactions. At Erste Bank Hungary, money transfers take seconds instead of several hours – every day, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

E-mail or telephone number instead of IBAN

The integration of valantic’s RTPE in the existing bank environment is unproblematic: The rules for controlling the settlement processes are centrally configured and parametrised. Currently, standard payment formats like SEPA (payment, direct debit, card payment), SWIFT, CGI (Common Global Implementation) or local currency standards, such as Hungarian forints (HUF), are supported. These formats are extended by instant payments for SEPA (SCTInst) as well as other country-specific currencies.

The project at Erste Bank is based on regulations which are mandatory in Hungary and have to be fulfilled by the financial institutions. “With regards to electronic banking, Hungary is now in the front position. Before the go-live, a comprehensive testing phase took place under control of the Central Bank of Hungary. In March, the project at Erste Bank Hungary could successfully be completed thanks to the great cooperation between Erste Bank Hungary and valantic,” said Sertac Cetiner, Head of Payments, from valantic. Currently, Erste Bank Hungary is the only bank in Hungary supporting those request-to-pay functions, so that, for the time being, only intrabank payment requests are possible. “For the Hungarian payment industry, instant payments are an important milestone which enables new business models and fulfils customer expectations which are now much more dynamic than some years ago,” added Reka Schreiber, Head of Operations, from Erste Bank Hungary. New in RTPE is that, in addition to the conventional IBAN identification, customers can use their telephone number or e-mail address as ID for verification in the new payment system.

Conformity with SWIFT and ISO 20022

valantic’s RTPE supports all relevant SWIFT and ISO 20022 standards in the pain, pacs and camt format, including required variants. Additionally, RTPE is multi-client and multi-channel capable, so that payment instructions can be processed across different channels, such as e-banking or corporate banking. All instructions are validated on various levels against format rules, EPC rules and bank-specific rules. A high-performance mapping engine allows the conversion from any format used by the payment submitter. The settlement processes are centrally controlled and a single Point of Truth enables a central filing of all processed instructions, payments and bookings. The example of Erste Bank Hungary shows how flexible valantic’s Real Time Payment Engine can be customised to the requirements of local markets and the banks. Today, Erste Bank Hungary already has the technological basis at its disposal.

About valantic

valantic is the number one provider of digital transformation services and belongs to the fastest growing companies involved in digital solutions, consulting services and software on the market. valantic combines technological competence and industry expertise with humanity. More than 1,000 customers trust in valantic – 20 of 30 DAX corporations and just as many of the leading Swiss and Austrian corporations. With more than 1,000 specialised solution consultants and software developers and an annual turnover of more than 150 million euros, valantic is represented in 25 locations within the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and in 6 international locations. valantic is organised in a unique structure comprising several competence centres and teams of experts – always focusing on the digitalisation needs of their customers and partners. From strategy to concrete realisation. The service portfolio comprises the fields of Financial Services Automation, Customer Experience, Business Analytics, SAP Services, Enterprise Software as well as Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

www.valantic.com

About the valantic Competence Center Financial Services Automation (FSA)

The valantic Competence Center Financial Services Automation is a leading provider of software solutions in electronic trading, payment and transaction management. Nearly 300 IT and financial specialists service more than 100 customers in 7 locations throughout Europe. valantic FSA enables its customers to securely automate business-critical processes and thus forms the basis for digital business approaches. With the Electronic Trading Hub, the Transaction Process Automation Hub and the Real Time Payments Hub, valantic FSA offers modular and open platforms for digital transformation, open banking and the simplification of business processes.