Prism TranSwitch Services (PTSS) - the electronic funds transfer and bill payment processing services company within the Prism Holdings group - has further entrenched its business relationship with BP Africa (BPA) by expanding its service offering on several new projects.
The relationship with BPA was fuelled in August 2000 when BPA became Prism`s first major client in the petrochemicals sector.
Mike Smith, MD of PTSS, comments: "PTSS is proud of its association with BPA which has grown in the last two years to include a variety of initiatives. There are also some new, exciting projects in the developmental stages."
BPA`s Marketing Technology Manager, Peter Townsend, says BPA chose PTSS as its technology partner to assist in achieving its vision of becoming a completely innovative digital organisation.
Initially, PTSS integrated its VAGAS EFT switching software with BPA`s service station point-of-sale (POS) systems, facilitating online, as well as offline, switching on the forecourt and inside BP`s convenience stores on a 24x7 basis.
Roll-out of this electronic funds transfer (EFT) software now extends to over 500 of BPA`s service stations, convenience stores and homebases throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Prism also played a key roll in extending BPA`s FuelMaster project into the electronic, online arena.
FuelMaster is a facility whereby information about a specific vehicle, or customer, is held in a central database. The technology is activated on the forecourt through an electronic tagging system, which identifies the vehicle, or individual, and matches it against the relevant authorisation databases. In effect, FuelMaster assists in management of the client`s petroleum purchases thereby eliminating fraudulent usage.
And, with BPA rolling out RET (Remote Encoding of Tags) - a remote updating facility for FuelMaster identification systems - PTSS is managing the file transfer processes required for RET transactions.
PTSS is also involved in the BPA/Exel alliance project, which makes it possible for cardholders to transact between sites and forecourts utilising one of the branded garage cards. A similar project allows use of a Transnet branded card to use their cards at both BPA and Exel petroleum sites.
In addition, PTSS is playing a key role in a joint venture between PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and BPA in which PwC assists BPA sites with cash management, highlighting areas of potential concern to the manager as they occur. PTSS assists in the process through the transfer of daily data files between BPA sites and PwC.
"Having had experience in both the DB and business side of BPA, I can clearly see that the demands placed on our partners are in the best interests of the BPA business unit. The past 12 months have proven challenging, but at the same time BPA and PTSS have cemented an excellent working relationship. It has evolved from a basic level of understanding into a true partnership that will carry both companies forward into an exciting future," Townsend says.
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Prism TranSwitch Services (PTSS) is SA`s leading electronic funds transfer and bill payment processing services company. PTSS switches over 150 million transactions per annum on behalf of major retailers, utilities and financial institutions.
PTSS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSE-listed Prism Holdings, a world leader in the secure electronic transaction market. With a growing presence in Europe and South-East Asia, Prism is one of the few companies in the world offering services solutions and products that bridge the following core technologies:
a. Security - sophisticated cryptographic security solutions, many developed using own intellectual property resources.
b. Payment solutions in the physical and virtual (Internet and wireless) realms.
c. Smart card technologies spanning both wireless communications and electronic payments.
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