ATLANTA and LONDON, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CheckFree
Corporation (Nasdaq: CKFR) today confirmed it has successfully completed
the SWIFTNet Testing and Certification Service Proof of Concept (POC)
project for ISO 15022 corporate actions messages. CheckFree is a leading
provider of technology and services for the financial services industry,
including sophisticated, high-volume solutions for middle-office,
back-office and corporate actions automation.
The project tested the validity of ISO 15022 corporate actions
notification messages, submitted by CheckFree eVent(TM) against the
recently published guidelines by the Securities Market Practice Group
(SMPG). SMPG is an industry group focused on defining and documenting
securities industry communications practices using ISO 15022 principles.
This POC is the first step in a SWIFT (the Society for Worldwide
Interbank Financial Telecommunication) initiative to test automated
corporate actions notification messages for compliance with SMPG's
guidelines, and also gauge support for future testing and certification. An
additional goal of this initiative is to look at ways to improve the
overall quality and adoption of ISO 15022 corporate actions messages,
leading to improved straight-through processing (STP) and reduced risk in
corporate actions processing.
CheckFree's eVent solution successfully submitted more than 55
different event types and their respective corporate actions notification
messages. These messages all conformed to the correct mandatory and
voluntary indicators, as well as any use of option codes specified for the
event in the SMPG guidelines. In all cases, CheckFree eVent also achieved
an extremely high level of STP.
Max L. Mansur, Product Manager for Custodian Services at SWIFT,
commented, "The recurring message within the corporate actions community is
that high data quality coupled with consistent market practice adoption
reduces risk and processing costs. We are happy that CheckFree chose to
participate in this Proof of Concept and to help us confirm the potential
value of a testing service for our mutual clients."
Preston Hoffman, senior vice president and general manager of the
securities practice within CheckFree Software said, "This initiative --
aimed at raising the quality and future adoption of the ISO 15022 corporate
actions messaging standards -- is further commitment from CheckFree to
provide high- quality processing solutions and achieve exceptional customer
service for our global clients. As a long-term SWIFTReady Gold EAI
accredited partner and a SWIFTReady application in the corporate actions
space, CheckFree continues to maintain active involvement in industry
initiatives that promote the benefits of STP."
By participating in the Proof of Concept Project, CheckFree continues
to invest in its eVent corporate actions solution, allowing it to meet the
ever changing requirements of clients and the global financial services
industry.
CheckFree's Applied Operational Intelligence(SM) approach helps clients
drive profitability and performance by combining innovative software,
proven expertise and business intelligence. This approach is built on
CheckFree's core competencies of reconciliation, exception management,
transaction process management, corporate actions processing, payments
processing, risk management and compliance. The Applied Operational
Intelligence approach is expressly designed to help manage risk and
efficiency, while leveraging business intelligence to achieve measurable
return on investment.
About CheckFree eVent
Based on workflow technology, CheckFree eVent automates the routing of
corporate actions messages to the designated person for action at the
appropriate stage in the lifecycle. Together with its comprehensive alert
and escalation facilities, this ensures that events can be responded to in
an efficient and timely manner. CheckFree eVent reduces the risk of manual
errors and provides valuable proof of compliance with audit and archive
facilities. Powerful management information tools assist in the
identification of bottlenecks and peaks, allowing you to stay in control,
concentrate on exceptions and improve service quality.
SWIFTReady accredited, CheckFree eVent is built on the same financial
messaging platform as the SWIFTReady Gold accredited CheckFree
TradeFlow(TM) solution. CheckFree eVent has achieved the 2006 B.I.S.S. Gold
Accreditation for Corporate Actions Systems for four consecutive years.
This designation, along with the SWIFTReady accreditation for Corporate
Actions for three consecutive years, further demonstrates CheckFree's
strong commitment to technology leadership in the corporate actions space.
For more information about CheckFree eVent and other products, visit
www.checkfreesoftware.com.
About CheckFree (www.checkfree.com)
Founded in 1981, CheckFree Corporation