MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Threshold Financial Technologies Inc. and Credit Union Central of British Columbia (Central) today announced that they have signed a letter of intent naming Threshold as the provider of a new coast to coast (C2C) node gateway solution that will replace the current node in April, 2009. The C2C node provides access to Canadian payment networks, as well as debit card and ATM processing services, to B.C. and other Canadian credit unions.
"As the global payments industry is evolving at an unprecedented pace, it was important for us to select a vendor that can provide credit unions with a solution that is technically superior to anything else in the market, backed by a company which is genuinely committed to innovation, delivery excellence and customer satisfaction. And, most importantly, we require a true partnership relationship that will allow us to further help our members with their financial service needs. Threshold is unquestionably such a company," said Nancy McNeill, senior vice president of administration for Coast Capital Savings Credit Union and a member of the C2C due diligence working committee.
"With Canada having the highest debit card usage worldwide, debit card services are an essential part of a credit union's array of services for its members," said Oscar van der Meer, Central's vice president of technology and payment services. "Central is pleased to have reached this agreement with Threshold, which is well-known for its high service levels."
Current C2C volumes are 270 million transactions a year, with an anticipated 300 million within two to three years. B.C. credit unions currently account for 65 percent of the C2C volumes. Under the agreement, all credit unions will benefit from the same volume pricing, regardless of their individual transaction levels.
"Switching of ATM and point-of-sale transactions is fundamental to our credit union's ability to provide quality service to our members," said Philip Moore, general manager of Greater Vancouver Community Credit Union. "As a smaller credit union, GVC is looking for a supplier that can provide an assured and competitive service, while supporting our migration to the chip-card world. We are very impressed with the Threshold offering, which enables GVC to use one supplier for switching, ATMs and chip card migration."
For the C2C node, Threshold has architected a leading-edge solution that will operate on its IBM AIX-based Postilion Active/Active switching platform, offering the highest level of availability using real-time load-balanced processing as opposed to the more traditional disaster recovery methodologies. This means Threshold will operate switches in Vancouver and Toronto, configured to automatically provide continuity of service if one switch fails.
"The solution being built by Threshold offers the Canadian credit union system one of the most technologically advanced and fault tolerant processing environments in the world today," said Matthew McIver, president of Threshold. "Not only does the solution offer unprecedented reliability, but at the same time, offers feature-rich and diverse functionality unparalleled in the marketplace. It is a great honor to be selected as the provider of choice after the C2C Node group conducted a very detailed due diligence process to ensure that their participating credit unions will receive a solution that both meets their current needs, and assures them of more innovative solutions as the industry evolves."
