INTERNATIONAL BYTES

Overseas Union Bank, Singapore, has gone live with component-based ActiveBank.net to support loans across its local business units.

Activebank.net, supplied by Financial Objects, London, replaces several manual systems, and provides a single integrated solution for multi-currency loans, operating across branches in several locations. The service also provides increased security, more efficient error handling, an embedded general ledger and comprehensive loan-support capabilities.

"We needed a single solution that has the capability to handle a variety of loans and provide distributed processing," said Wong Chit Sieng, senior vice president of the Business Solutions Delivery Department, Overseas Union Bank. "ActiveBank.net's flexible component-based architecture enables us to set up different loan product types and process these loans from anywhere in the bank."

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Baring Asset Management has selected CODA-Financials to manage its finance operations in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Boston.

CODA-Financials will provide Baring with a globally consolidated central database of all its financial information, while also delivering the capability to analyze operations in each country on an individual basis. When fully live, the system will provide Baring, for the first time, with centralized company reports and enterprise-wide analysis for complete, real-time financial intelligence.

"CODA-Financials is a multicurrency and multicompany solution, providing us with the comprehensive financial intelligence we need to make key business decisions," said Julian Swayne, chief financial officer, Baring Asset Management.

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Visa International has launched Visa 3-D secure, and plans on implementing the product globally.

Visa 3-D Secure is part of Visa's Secure Commerce Program and is designed to reduce the risk of unauthorized card usage and to make Internet shopping a more secure experience for both buyers and sellers. 3-D Secure offers an additional layer of security, introducing new username/password, physical chip card, and smart card technologies.

WorldPay, Cambridge, U.K., will be the first company to fully implement the technology, which is produced Arcot Systems Inc. WorldPay will provide 3-D Secure technology to its customer base in 109 countries, and deploy Arcot Transfort as an outsourced solution to a range of banks to ensure rapid and reliable deployment of the 3-D technology.