HP unveils PowerCARD payment management software

06 November 2012  |   Source: HP

       

HP today announced that banks, retailers and telecom operators can now boost the cost-effectiveness of their card operations with PowerCARD payment management software.

With this agreement, HP now offers customers a card payment solution across Europe, Middle East and Africa. This solution complements HP's existing card services utilities which are already available to clients in the Americas and in the Asia-Pacific regions.

HPS, an HP AllianceONE partner, is a leading payment software company who currently provides state-of-the-art card, ATM and POS management systems for over 320 financial institutions in 70 countries. As part of the HP AllianceONE program, HP and HPS will jointly offer outsourced payments solutions based on PowerCARD software in the Europe, Middle East and African (EMEA) region. HP offers a broad solution set for both in-house processing and outsourced services and works with clients globally to define the appropriate strategic fit for their cards and payments business.

"Organisations now have the opportunity to improve their card solutions by replacing legacy hardware and software with something much more flexible and cost-effective," says Ed Adshead-Grant, EMEA card and payments practice head, HP. "HP is viewed by many as the OEM of the payment industry, and our tests confirm PowerCARD as a robust, scalable complement to HP's own Payments Solutions for the EMEA region. Organisations of all sizes can now boost the cost-effectiveness and competitive positioning of their card issuing, switching and acquiring solutions."

In a series of rigorous tests conducted over five weeks on the latest HP Superdome2 servers, the HP European Performance Centre scaled PowerCARD payment software up to 100 million accounts with processing cycles of 3,000 transactions per second for up to 5,000 concurrent users. Performing online data and batch processing with economical HP-UX server infrastructures ensures that resource is readily available, and enables changes to products and services to be delivered in a fraction of the time taken by a mainframe solution.

"The HP tests clearly demonstrate that the reliability, availability and scalability required for 24x7 card processing services can be achieved by running PowerCARD software on HP-UX servers," says Abdeslam Alaoui, Managing Director, HPS. "The collaboration between HPS and HP in this project has been excellent. As an AllianceOne Partner, HPS will continue working with HP to deliver modernisation programs in electronic payment for any financial institution that is looking to win market share or escape the technology legacy trap."

HP AllianceONE is a comprehensive partner program for technology companies focused on HP's Converged Infrastructure strategy of providing a shared services model to deliver secure, best-in-class applications. 

First study on Morocco’s retail Islamic finance sector launched

IFAAS announces the launch of the first independent study of Morocco’s emerging retail Islamic finance sector: Islamic Finance in Morocco – sizing the retail market

IFAAS (Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services), the international Islamic finance consultancy, has announced the imminent launch of its exclusive report entitled, Islamic Finance in Morocco – sizing the retail market, analysing the consumer retail market for Islamic financial products and services in Morocco. The report is the first of its kind for the country and is due to be launched in June. It is the result of an independent survey performed on a representative random sample of the Moroccan population across all major regions of the Kingdom. 

Islamic Finance in Morocco – sizing the retail market, sets out the market opportunities for financial institutions with interest in the Moroccan market.  The report measures the potential market size for Islamic retail banking, finance and Islamic insurance Takaful and assesses how it will compete with mainstream, conventional finance.  

This report will be of particular importance for financial institutions looking to set-up their Islamic operations in Morocco as IFAAS’ report provides full analysis of the consumer demand for Islamic finance in the Kingdom.  It profiles consumers according to their existing use of financial products and services, evaluates their attitudes towards Islamic Finance and reports on their tendency to take out Islamic products and services.  The report also analyses consumer understanding of how Islamic financial products and services work and their likely behaviour when Islamic financial products become available in the Moroccan market. 

With Islamic Finance in Morocco – sizing the retail market, bankers and insurers with interests in the Moroccan market will find answers to a number of key questions including, how receptive are Moroccan consumers to switch from conventional to Islamic products; under which conditions and how quickly? Which Islamic finance products are most desired? How price sensitive is the Moroccan consumer and would more expensive products be acceptable? Do Moroccan consumers understand the difference between a fully-fledged Islamic bank and an Islamic window of a conventional bank? How important is the institution’s compliance with Shari’ah principles and its Shari’ah Board rulings for the consumer? How much new business is anticipated with the launch of Islamic financial products in the country? In a nutshell, IFAAS’ report provides a comprehensive overview on the real potential of the retail Islamic finance within the Moroccan market.

Commenting on the forthcoming launch of the report, Farrukh Raza, managing director of IFAAS said, “Decision makers looking to develop a retail offering need concrete data and consumer insights in order to make critical business decisions”.  IFAAS’ report, Islamic Finance in Morocco – sizing the retail market, based on scientifically validated information, fulfils the demand for this data enabling financial institutions to build appropriate business and product strategies. The report is a must-have for any institution considering its next move in the nascent Moroccan Islamic finance sector.” 

IFAAS commissioned a highly reputed local research firm to independently undertake the quantitative survey. Random, face-to-face, street interviews were conducted on a weighted sample size of over 800 individuals, reflecting a true picture of the Moroccan consumer market... The target sample was composed of men and women aged 18 to 55 years, from a variety of socio-economic categories, living in urban and rural areas and consisted of both banked and unbanked groups of the population.  In terms of geographical coverage, the study was conducted in towns and surrounding rural municipalities of Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Agadir, Fez, Tangier and Oujda.