LONDON, February 11 /PRNewswire/ -- VocaLink, the payment transaction specialist, announced today that it has successfully completed a first SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) pilot with participation from ABN, BAWAG P.S.K., The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and a number of their corporate customers.

With less than two hundred working days until the SDD go-live date of 1 November 2009, banks are under pressure to fully comply with both SDD and PSD regulations, often requiring heavy investments of capital and time. At the same time, banks are looking for ways to stir customer interest in an SDD proposition which will be required to compete with strong local direct debit variants, at least in the short term. The VocaLink SDD pilot has allowed the three participant banks to test fully a broad range of SDD business-to-business (B2B) services in a safe, virtual environment without internal IT changes or significant operational or reputational risk.

Martin Wilson, chief commercial officer at VocaLink, commented: We are delighted with the success of the first SDD pilot, which has positioned our clients ahead of the market. Our SDD solution not only ensures compliance but also provides functionally rich services such as payments capture, validation, mandate management and exceptions management, enabling banks to make a real impact with their corporate customers. Our efficient 'pay-as-you-go' approach also helps the banks to achieve SDD compliance at a reduced cost and mitigate the risk of slow take-up, whilst staying competitive in the marketplace by offering customers new services early. We are now offering new banks the opportunity to join the early adopters by participating in the next VocaLink pilot exercise.

BAWAG P.S.K. ran the pilot in conjunction with two of its corporate clients and is planning to start promoting the benefits of the SDD B2B services in the coming weeks. These include greater transparency and control in cash management for corporate treasurers, the ability to move money more efficiently across borders in Europe, and improved visibility of the financial supply chain.

Joseph Laughlin, member of the management board at BAWAG P.S.K. commented: We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the SDD pilot. We successfully tested most of the expected situations in a SDD real life scenario within the TARGET2 test environment, including creditor and debtor functionality, linked using the VocaLink Euro CSM. The pilot has allowed us to gain early familiarity with SDD and show a leadership position by engaging our corporate customers and demonstrating the tangible benefits of the scheme to them.

Notes to Editors

About VocaLink

VocaLink is a specialist provider of transaction services to banks, their corporate customers and Government departments. It processes domestic and international automated payments and provides ATM switching solutions. On a peak day, the VocaLink automated payment platform processes over 90 million transactions and over half a billion in a month. Its switching platform connects the world's busiest ATM network of over 60,000 ATMs. Its Real-Time Payments platform provides the central infrastructure for the UK Faster Payments service. VocaLink is working with BGC to provide outsourced processing for the majority of Sweden's domestic payments.

Having pioneered electronic payments for over four decades, many of the world's top banks and their corporate customers rely on VocaLink to meet their transaction needs. Its processing services offer banks reach throughout the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and beyond; and are complemented by value-added services that leverage industry expertise and technical capabilities.

Please visit http://www.vocalink.com for more information.

About BAWAG P.S.K.

With total assets of EUR 45 bn, the BAWAG P.S.K. Group is the fifth largest banking group in Austria and the leading retail bank for the middle-income market. Its mission is to be a cutting-edge universal financial services provider with considerable market expertise, comprehensive individual customer service and innovative products. With some 150 BAWAG branch offices and a presence in more than 1,300 post offices, the BAWAG P.S.K. Group operates the largest centrally managed financial distribution network in Austria. It is also the leading provider of payments services in Austria. The Group employs about 6,300 people in total.

The BAWAG P.S.K. is wholly owned by a consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management L.P, which includes the Austrian Post AG, Generali Holding Vienna AG, Wustenrot Verwaltung- und Dienstleistungen GmbH and leading Austrian industrialists.

Please visit http://www.bawagpsk.com for more information.

About The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc is one of the world's leading financial services companies providing a range of retail and corporate banking, financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, and wealth management services. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc operates in over 50 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East serving more than 40 million customers and employing more than 170,000 people. The Group's brands include RBS, NatWest, Ulster Bank, Coutts, Citizens and many other household name financial services companies. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc led a consortium which acquired ABN AMRO in October 2007.

Please visit http://www.rbs.com for more information.

Further information: Gerald Cross or Jo Marlow, The JJ Group, +44-01865-343100 or vocalink@thejjgroup.com; Deborah Souter, VocaLink, +44(0)870-920-8651 or deborah.souter@vocalink.com