Bacs operator gets serious about Europe

With the demand for SEPA-related services increasing across the continent, VocaLink, the UK payments processor, has outlined its plans to take advantage of this and attract more business from mainland Europe. From January 2010 the present VocaLink business structure will be divided into three new units – clearings, cards and Euro services. This is a significant change that VocaLink hopes will help establish the company internationally.

Statement of intent
VocaLink see Euro services as a unit of “particular strategic importance”. This was highlighted in May when VocaLink encouraged shareholders (banks and building societies) to contribute to £60 million equity capital. This was followed by the opening of a European centre in Amsterdam to serve customers requiring real-time payments and SEPA valued added services. VocaLink has also signed up a number of major banks to its Euro Clearing and Settlement Mechanism €CSM partnership which will provide VocaLink clients and banks with a number of SEPA-related services.

The creation of these new units sees the appointment of Fred Bär to the role of Managing Director of Euro services, Nick Masterson-Jones to Managing Director of Clearings and Dan Conkleton to Managing Director of the Cards Unit. Martin Wilson, VocaLink’s Chief Commercial Officer, has moved on to pursue other opportunities.

Bär, Masterson-Jones and Conkleton will all report to CEO Marion King in a structure VocaLink says will enable it to operate more effectively internationally, with simplified internal processes.

Marion King comments: "Led by experts in their fields, our three businesses will allow VocaLink to not only meet customer and market demand but will enable the company to continue to grow internationally in coming years." [1]

[1] Finextra