May 2004 Financial News

FCIB Goes Hi Tech

May 04, 2004

i-flex solutions and Barbados-based FirstCaribbean International Bank, has announced that the region's largest banking operation in the Caribbean will employ i-flex solutions' state-of-the-art FLEXCUBE @ technology platform to facilitate their cross border operations in offering online real-time banking and related e-services. FLEXCUBE @ is the internet banking and e-finance platform offering of i-flex solutions' FLEXCUBE end-to-end banking product suite.

"FLEXCUBE @ will allow us to offer our customers online real-time banking services" said FirstCaribbean's Chief Executive Officer, Charles Pink, whose bank services 700,000 customers across 25 Caribbean islands. "I am very excited that the face of banking with FirstCaribbean will change to the benefit of our customers; the modular, scalable architecture of the product will accommodate future growth and help us introduce new end-to-end services to meet growing customer demand for speed and convenience."

"i-flex solutions is changing the way banking is done with enhanced operational efficiency and reduced maintenance costs," says i-flex solutions Chief Executive Officer, International Operations and Technology, R. Ravisankar. "By deploying FLEXCUBE @, FirstCaribbean Bank will have a world-class multi-channel integration solution enabling the bank to offer a consistent customer experience across multiple delivery channels. With FLEXCUBE @, FirstCaribbean will easily be able to facilitate cross border operations across the Caribbean region," continued Ravisankar.

FirstCaribbean will implement i-flex's FLEXCUBE @ Retail and Corporate platform to support the Internet banking channel and FLEXCUBE @ Connect for channel-integration. FLEXCUBE @'s contemporary technology infrastructure will increase the bank's competitive advantage and reduce the Bank's operational costs. The i-flex product will help FirstCaribbean reinforce its position as the leader in the Caribbean financial services market.

The launch of Internet and Telephone Banking services represents one of FirstCaribbean's most important and exciting initiatives this year. It demonstrates the bank's promise of putting its customers "first" by continuing to offer them a discernable difference in service. By providing two new banking access points, FirstCaribbean will be able to offer all of its customers the option to bank from the comfort of their home or office, while still enjoying all of the services provided by the Bank's extensive branch and automated banking machine channels.

In the initial phase, customers will be able to conduct all banking transactions including managing account balances and inquiries on loans and deposits, account history, currency transfers, stop payments and complete check ordering. Later, phase II consumers will be offered online bill payment capabilities, while International, Corporate, Commercial, and Capital Markets clientele will have access to wire payment services as well.

"We expect to make our first release of Internet banking services available to all customers by the end of this year and will continue to add features to this new banking channel going forward," said Pink.