ABN AMRO and Equens Renew Transaction Processing Agreement

AMSTERDAM, October 26, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- This afternoon, ABN AMRO Bank NV and Equens SE signed a long-term contract for transaction processing. In doing so, ABN AMRO Bank has renewed its existing contract with Equens until 2015. The contract encompasses EMV -debit card issuing to ABN AMRO's cardholders, and handling of its domestic giro transactions, European transfers (SEPA Credit Transfer) and European direct debits (SEPA Direct Debit).

ABN AMRO previously concluded a contract with Equens for the processing of domestic payments (PIN and Chipknip) and SEPA payment products (Maestro, V-Pay). The conclusion of the contract underlines the enduring partnership between the two companies.

Equens is pleased with the renewal of the contract. Michel Stuijt, General Manager of Market Management at Equens: "ABN AMRO Bank's decision to choose Equens again as a transaction processor emphasises the confidence the two companies have in one another. Our price-quality ratio also played an important role. The deciding factor, however, was the decades-old cooperation between the two companies, which has continued into the SEPA era."

Equens' growth strategy is geared towards achieving economies of scale in the European market by retaining existing clients and winning new clients and markets by increasing giro transaction processing volumes from 9.4 to 13 billion, and the number of card-related payments from 3.4 to 5 billion, before 2015. This should gain Equens a market share of 17% in Europe. In order to realise this goal, Equens is pursuing every possible form of cooperation, such as insourcing, partnering (e.g. joint ventures) and mergers.

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About Equens

Equens SE is one of the largest payment processors in Europe, leading the market for future-proof payment and card solutions. Thanks to an extensive and competitive range of services, the company seamlessly meets the requirements and wishes of the European payments market. Equens supports the development of a single, uniform European payments market (SEPA), and is dedicated to the standardisation and harmonisation of European and global payments. With clients and partnerships in multiple European countries, the company offers pan-European market coverage from offices in four countries - the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Finland. And with an annual processing volume of 9.4 billion payments and 3.4 billion POS and ATM transactions, Equens SE has a European market share of more than 12.5%.

For additional information, please visit http://www.equens.com

SOURCE Equens