Deutsche Postbank AG has assumed the settlement for cross-border euro payments for the Eurogiro network to January 2008. An agreement to this effect was concluded in Copenhagen. For the Bonn-based bank, which had initially fulfilled this function on a trial basis since 2004, this is a good opportunity to acquire expertise in Transaction Banking on a European level by handling limited volumina. “The banks in the Eurogiro network gave us an excellent reference as a service provider after the trial period,” stated Dirk Berensmann, the Postbank Management Board member responsible for Transaction Banking, Information Technology and Operations.

The position of Euro Settlement Service Provider for the Eurogiro network is awarded for a limited period. The renewal of the Postbank contract is the result of an assessment period which lasted several months and in which all the Eurogiro members were questioned on the service performance level Postbank provided. The assessment committee voted unanimously for Postbank as service provider for the coming three-year period. During the trial period, Postbank gained and implemented eight new Eurogiro partners as service users. Today, thirty banks use the service. Additional partners have made a commitment to participate.

 The Euro Settlement Service for Eurogiro members replaces the conventional, complex procedure in which every member bank in the Eurogiro Association had to maintain an account with each of the other member banks in order to process payments. Instead, as a service provider, Postbank maintains a single account for each member bank where all credit and debit payments are combined. This reduces administrative expenditure and simplifies liquidity management for the members, especially with the option of internet-based real-time access to account information.

The Eurogiro network was originally a union of European postal banks and organizations for the rapid, economic and secure processing of foreign payments. Due to the high performance level and innovative strength of the Eurogiro network, banks and organizations outside Europe are increasingly joining the network. Currently the network has 44 members in 39 countries.