Travelex's GEO Marches Into Asia-Pacific

LONDON, January 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Travelex's GEO Commences Cross Border Payments for Rakuten Bank

- Over 900 Clients Pre-Registered for the Service

Travelex Global Business Payments, the leading cross-border payment services provider, today announced it has commenced international payments services for Rakuten Bank, part of the Rakuten Group and one of Japan's leading e-commerce companies, through its GEO international payments platform.

Rakuten Group is among the top 10 largest internet companies in the world and is the second most visited website in Japan. Through GEO, Rakuten Bank is able to offer international payments capability to their customers in Japan.

Travelex GEO offers customers, like Rakuten Bank, access to a sophisticated international payment capability which in Rakuten's case allows payment in 67 currencies via an innovative online platform.

Launched in late 2010, GEO was developed specifically for financial institutions (FI's) enabling them to build new revenue streams through the growing customer demand for cross border payments. It offers a scalable, secure and flexible platform that simplifies global payments and exceeds the offering of the major banks without the need to develop expensive in-house infrastructure.

GEO also provides access to Travelex's extensive global payments network in over 40 countries, including access to emerging payments networks, which can enable faster settlement of payments when compared to traditional routes such as SWIFT. Utilising Travelex's own network also reduces the number of corresponding banks involved in the payment process, meaning faster and less expensive transactions for customers.

David Sear, Divisional Managing Director, Travelex Global Business Payments said GEO is unique in the marketplace offering FI's an outsourced solution that can be white labelled to mirror existing systems while integrating into their online banking platform allowing customer to transact online 24 hours a day.

"GEO is a one-stop shop for international payments; improving efficiency, clearing times and minimising errors, whilst ensuring a better customer experience through seamless service integration with existing online banking platforms.

"GEO is the first of its kind; a purpose built cross border payments platform for financial institutions. It provides a seamless and intuitive global network and lets financial institutions take advantage of Travelex's global footprint and scalable infrastructure solution to open up new revenue streams and dramatically improve service levels for their customers."

Mr Sear said services such as FX and international payments were traditionally the domain of the big banks that have ready access to clearing and settlement networks and the capacity to sustain the infrastructure investment required to develop and maintain an international payments system.

"GEO levels the playing field, giving all financial institutions the opportunity to expand the suite of services offered to their customers via a fully branded international payments solution."

About Travelex Global Business Payments

Travelex Global Business Payments is a global foreign exchange specialist providing the payment and receipt of domestic and international funds for businesses of all sizes. For more than 30 years, Travelex Global Business Payments has provided clients with sophisticated market knowledge, leading edge technologies and practical and innovative solutions tailored to individual requirements. Every year, Travelex Global Business Payments processes payments around the world over 35,000 businesses to 1 million beneficiaries. Visit http://www.travelexbusiness.com for more information.