Bankweaver

Tailor-made eBanking
solutions out of the box

World-class secure service platform for eBanking.

Designed by banks, for banks.
 In a nutshell

Today, one of the bank’s biggest Isabel Bankweaver will also please your
challenges is managing the ever- most demanding Corporate and SME
increasing pace of change. Changes customers. It will help them to increase
to the business environment caused their own efficiency by providing a
by mergers & acquisitions and multi-user web-based eBanking
internationalisation. Changes to solution. Bankweaver is integrated
regulations and legal framework with with their financial applications such
SEPA-Single Euro Payments Area, as accounting, invoicing, ERP and cash
Sarbanes-Oxley and MiFID. Pressure management software. And it includes
from the shareholders for better focus extended and configurable payment
on core business and the balance validation workflows, including multi-
between insourcing and outsourcing user powers-to-sign and viewing mandates.
services. And, of course, the growing
demand by corporate customers for The integration of electronic invoicing in
better services and increased efficiency. payment solutions is often referred to
as EBBP – Electronic Bill Presentment
Banks should keep in mind that an and Payment. Obviously, it is much
efficient eBanking solution means smarter to add an “invoice” capability to
different things to customers from what existing and widely deployed electronic
it means to banks. Shifting manual data payment solutions than to add a
 entry from the bank to the customer payment functionality to non-existent
is not the right approach. eBanking on-line invoicing solutions. Isabel
solutions need to eliminate manual data offers support for electronic invoices
entry and replace it by integration with in Isabel Zoomit. This Zoomit module is
the financial software packages used integrated into Bankweaver. Corporates
by the customer. The eBanking service and SMEs using Bankweaver gain
is the bank’s major entry point for most immediate access to an electronic
Corporate and SME customers. And it is invoice exchange solution that is neatly
often the single point of crystallisation integrated with invoicing and accounting
for all of the bank’s challenges. You software. Banks can also include
better do it right, or your customer will run. Zoomit in their existing retail Internet
Banking solutions.
Isabel Bankweaver is a bank-centric
service platform for Corporate No wonder over 30 banks in Europe
eBanking solutions. It is so feature- rely on Isabel for their corporate
rich it can be used off the shelf. It can eBanking solutions.
also be customised to satisfy the most
complex demands. According to the
bank’s preferences, it can be deployed
as an outsourced service or run in-house.
Isabel Bankweaver fits into a whole
range of business models.
Tom Sels, Manpower,
on the efficiency of Isabel Bankweaver
In 2006 we centralised financial processing of 72 countries
with PeopleSoft Financial software located in our head
office in Milwaukee (US). Most countries had to build
interfaces at a price of € 15.000 per bank. The integration
with our three banks was standard in Isabel and we saved
€ 45.000.

In addition, all incoming payments are automatically

uploaded via Isabel and processed by Peoplesoft’s
‘Payment Predictor’. This correctly books 70 to 80% of the
payments fully automatically. 
Working with Isabel increased our efficiency. We handle 25%
growth without any change in the staff.

Tom Sels, Financial Controller Manpower Belgium.

 What banks need

eBanking is the bank’s major entry point for most Corporate

and SME customers. You better do it right, or your customer
will shy away. You want your complexity to be hidden from your
customers at all times. Bankweaver will help banks and their
corporate customers to successfully face today’s challenges.

Challenges for the banks

Mergers & Acquisitions are a SEPA - Single Euro Payments Area -
common reality in the financial world. promises major benefits for the whole
They always result in a complex IT financial industry. But getting there
infrastructure challenge. If the bank might require major changes to many of
opts for a total merger, the objective will the components in the bank’s financial
be a single front-end to the customer. chains. The time might be right to
But back-office integration may take replace outdated tools with a SEPA-
years. eBanking solutions have to be compliant eBanking solution.
capable of handling this back-office
 complexity. If the group strategy is to STP - Straight Through Processing - can
retain multiple brands, the eBanking drastically improve the bank’s efficiency
solution needs to be capable of allowing and generate substantial savings.
“white labelling”. Every customer will STP is not just a matter for the back-
see his or her favourite brand and look office either. The aim of the eBanking
& feel. But the bank operates only one solution is to deliver quality data that
eBanking platform. can be injected into the bank’s “payment
factory” without requiring manual
Internalisation is a successful strategy intervention. eBanking tools need to
used by many banks to increase include the bank’s own validation rules
their size and drive their growth. to control the input at the customer’s side.
But entering new markets increases
M&A complexity. New markets mean Security is a critical element. Banks
supporting local languages, local cannot afford any compromise on the
standards, local procedures and local quality of their security infrastructure.
formats. An eBanking solution has They are faced with increasing
to be able to support these multiple attacks as a result of the increased
localisations, preferably out-of-the-box usage of electronic transactions. Any
and managed centrally. Or at least be incident has a direct impact on the
easily configurable without the need for customer’s trust and can have dramatic
expensive customisation cycles. consequences. It is vital for eBanking
tools to come with a complete security
infrastructure. They also need to offer
support for security tokens used at the
bank or other solutions available on the
market.
 What banks need
The administration of customers Challenges for bank
and physical users is all too often customers
a nightmare. Legal entities, private
individuals, contracts, users, access Achieving efficiency in the Financial
rights, mandates and security tokens Value chain is one of the objectives of
are changing every day. Information the CFO. Banks should bear in mind
is stored in multiple systems and that customers may interpret an
managed by multiple departments and efficient eBanking solution in a different
employees. eBanking systems need to way from the way they do. Shifting
retain existing procedures and collect manual data entry from the bank to
data from existing systems. But they the customer is not the right approach.
must also offer new tools to integrate An eBanking solution has to eliminate
and simplify the administrative manual data-entry and replace it by
process. Non-critical operations can be automatic integration with the financial
delegated to the customer. software packages used by the customer.

Business models can differ from project Multi-user procedures are a key
to project. Sometimes the bank may security requirement for most
want to include eBanking as a basic customers and are mandatory from
service. Other banks will propose a regulator and audit point of view.

eBanking as a separate product and eBanking solutions need to support
price it accordingly. Some banks will complex, multi-user, payment validation
join forces and work together to set processes.
up a multi-banking solution. So does
the bank just buy a licence? Or does Multi-location activities of corporates
it want to outsource the solution and and even SMEs result in a specific
have it hosted? And outsource other demand for applications that are not
administrative processes at the same location-dependent and which can
time? eBanking solutions have to be able be accessed by travelling staff and
to support this plethora of business models. executives. Central HQ wants to have
immediate access and control. But
local offices are required to process,
monitor and execute transactions.
eBanking solutions have to be able
to support local requirements such
as languages and look & feel. A web-
based architecture is the solution to
geographic independence.

Multi-bank is a reality for most

corporate and SME customers. While
not the bank’s favourite approach, it
cannot be ignored. In line with SEPA,
it may be smart for banks to abandon
customer lock-in and to cooperate to
offer multi-banking solutions to their
customers.
 Functional features

BANKWEAVER

Isabel eAdmin

Security:
Isabel Trust Solutions

 Bankit
Isabel Bankit is an online, web-based platform for electronic banking. The typical
user is a Corporate or SME bank customer. The customer will use Bankit to send
payment instructions to the bank and to collect reporting.

Bankit is highly configurable and scalable. It can be used by small local banks or by
large international financial bank holding companies.

Signature Manual Accounting Server

Customer entry packages

Payment Payment
Internet Report

Front Office
Functionality

Middle Office
Functionality
Bank

Bank Back Office

Clearing & Settlement

Inter Bank
 Functional features
Front-office functionality
The “White label” approach used by Savings for your customer can be
Bankit allows banks to adopt a multi- up to several man-days per month.
brand strategy within a single eBanking Unattended communication is available
platform. Customers will only see the for customers with very high volumes
bank brand they are familiar with. or specific interfacing needs. The
Synchroniser can even feed automated
reporting, dashboards and cash
management applications.

Off-line Reporting gives your customer

the opportunity to work on large
volumes of data in their favourite
office tools, such as MS-Excel and
MS-Access. They can create their own
reports and process the data with ease.

Middle-Office functionality
The multi-format factory of Bankit can
fulfil many functions, including: 
 Format verification and validation,
splitting, merging
 Format conversion
 Protocol conversion
 Message routing

SEPA-compliant: The generic data entry

It can be used as a SEPA gateway and
module for domestic and international
allows banks and individual customers
payments in the Euro zone uses a fast
to each migrate at their own pace.
wizard flow. The wizard will guide
your customer through the data-entry
The wizard included in the front-office
process until a complete and correct
application operates according to a
transaction has been entered.
rule-set defined by the bank. The result
is an efficient transaction in Straight
It supports a wide range of formats
Through Processing without any manual
for payment initiation, collection and
intervention by the bank.
reporting:
 International generic formats, such
In large corporations the payment
as MT 101, MT 94x, SEPA-XML
workflow can be complex. Different
 Country-specific formats
users have different rights for signing
 Bank-specific formats are possible
transactions or for controlling and
 Reports are available online, can be
releasing them. Users might even have
printed (txt, PDF,...) or downloaded.
different mandates per account or per
account type. Bankit parameters can be
Customer efficiency: The Synchroniser
configured to offer simplicity to the small
enables integration with other
or medium enterprises or to meet the
applications, including ERP and
complex needs of your most demanding
accounting packages. This reduces
corporate customers.
the need for the manual data-entry of
payments and statements.
 The Bankit middle-office functionality Very few companies include invoicing
aims to reduce the complexity of your as a core competence or feature it in
back-office. Bankit can provide routing their mission statement. They will boldly
services to multiple back-offices. A Set admit that invoices are only a tool. The
of rules, agreed to with the bank, will real objective is to get paid by their
determine the routing from Bankit to customers. Their invoice is basically an
one of the multiple bank back-offices. “invitation to pay”. As such, the invoice
and the payment are two sides of one
The middle-office functionalities will transaction. If banks wants to safeguard
so reduce costs and complexity for their role in the financial value chain,
the bank and improve the customer they must produce solutions to help their
experience and satisfaction of the customers to get paid.
bank’s customers.
Studies have shown that the easier a
supplier makes it for its customers
Zoomit to pay, the better the odds are that it
will get paid in time. The same studies
The integration of electronic invoices in
showed that while customers are
payment solutions is often referred to
increasingly using Internet Banking (in
as EBBP – Electronic Bill Presentment
their B2C and B2B formats), they hate
 and Payment. Obviously, it is much
manual data entry. The vast majority
smarter to add an “invoice” capability to
would rather receive electronic payment
existing and widely deployed electronic
invitations, directly in their Internet
payment solutions than to add a
banking system. And, of course, pay with
payment functionality to non-existent
a single click of the mouse. Without any
on-line invoicing solutions.
need for data entry.

Isabel’s EBBP solution, Zoomit, is

integrated inside the eBanking tool
Bankit. Corporates and SMEs using
Bankweaver gain immediate access to
an electronic invoice exchange solution
that is neatly integrated with the
invoicing and accounting software.

Banks can also integrate Zoomit into their

existing B2C Internet Banking solutions.

High-level functional overview

Zoomit is the bank-centric solution
for EBBP. It presents electronic
documents, including invoices and
salary slips, in the customer’s online
payment tool. Electronic documents
can have the same look & feel as paper
documents. In B2C markets, PDF and
HTML are popular formats. For B2B
markets, XML might be the best choice.
 Functional features
Integration inside the payment tool The integration of invoice and payment
allows the bank to offer added value reduces the error rate due to manual
to its customers with “one-click data-entry by the customer. Zoomit
payments”. Customers do not need to increases the efficiency for the
manually input payment data any longer. customer and enhances the quality of
Zoomit also provides the “Payment the payment information. Corporates
initiation” option to pre-fill payment and SMEs benefit from reduced
instructions in the Internet Banking reconciliation costs as a result of the
module. Customers simply approve the high-quality payment information, which
transaction to execute the payment. includes invoice references.

Zoomit can also be used to promote

the use of Direct Debit and to manage
payment mandates according to the new
SEPA regulations.

Offer your customers new

services AND increase the
use of your online channel.
Integrating Zoomit in the bank’s
eBanking channels is a major step
towards the creation of a financial Zoomit reduces payment delays for
portal. All information about financial your business clients, improves their
transactions is fully documented in the working capital needs and substantially
eBanking solution. reduces their general overheads,
including administration, handling,
The customer’s privacy is also a priority paper, printing, postal, processing and
for Zoomit. Zoomit only manages reconciliation.
payment and document references, not
the documents as such. Documents
remain under the exclusive control of
the supplier and the customer. Zoomit
does also manage specific viewing
rights to guarantee that documents
are only accessible by the intended
recipient.
 eAdmin
eAdmin offers a flexible administration As a result of its flexibility, the
tool for managing the registration, operational use of eAdmin can easily
configuration, consultation and be mapped to your own organisational
cancellation of contracts. You can structure and existing processes.
manage the access rights and mandates There is no need for you to change.
on financial data (such as accounts and
detailed authorisation rules) for your eAdmin allows seamless integration
clients’ accounts. with other bank applications (such as
CRM, mandate management, etc.) for
All administration tools are web-based, data provisioning.
providing an efficient and user-friendly
interface to bank administration users. Self-administration
Banks can delegate basic
administration functionality to
No change to customers. Typically, manual data-entry
organisational structure is pushed back to the customer. Self-
and existing processes administration reduces your contract
10 management costs.

The client administration user is

mandated to perform administrative
tasks, depending on his/her
responsibilities and independent of
location. The bank defines which
functions a customer’s administrative
users can perform and how their
actions need to be validated.
 Functional features
Security
Bankweaver integrates today’s highest
level security components based on
a PKI-Public Key Infrastructure with
smart card and smart card-reader
for online identification and electronic
signatures.

Bankweaver also provides support for

your own existing security systems or
other security solutions available on
the market, including PKI, Digipass and
secure ID.

Support for a wide range A complete solution

of security systems The Isabel security components offer a
complete solution, including:

 Contract and user management 11

 Legal framework
 Management of the entire lifecycle
of smart cards and certificates,
including production, international
distribution and revocation service.

Isabel has years of experience with

large-scale PKI deployment in critical
financial environments. Isabel’s know-
how can help banks to deploy faster and
more efficiently. Banks can also choose
to outsource the PKI infrastructure to Isabel.
 Business models

Every bank has its own requirements, software development (based on the
which may change over time. generic Bankweaver solution), hosting,
Outsourcing decisions are based on operations, maintenance, helpdesk,
two major criteria: “What is my core support, card distribution, and so
business?” and “What is the most on. All for an attractive all-inclusive
cost-effective solution?”. But “time-to- usage-based price, as the result of
market” and availability of resources economies of scale.
are also important.
ASP mode: a separate bank
Isabel offers banks many choices infrastructure: Isabel handles hosting,
between different business models. software configuration and operations
The most popular models are listed, but on completely separate hardware in
additional customisation to your own high-security computer rooms. You
needs are possible. will, of course, also benefit from bank-
specific service level agreements and
Managed Service Mode: a total solution performance targets.
with significant economies of scale:
Complete outsourcing of e-banking Software supply: Isabel supplies
services to Isabel, but under your customised software. Hosting for the
own brands. This may include out- solution is handled by a third party or
12 of-the box software, complementary by the bank.
13

Business models
 Conclusions

Isabel Bankweaver is a complete eBanking solution that will

help banks and their customers.

Reduce costs Get the approval of your Auditor

 For contract administration through  A complete solution with extended
self-administration. and highly secure e-Banking
 By reducing complexity in bank services, including contract and
operations. user management tools.
 By enhanced Straight Through  Compliant with international and
Processing between you and your local regulations.
business customers.
 By limited distribution of software Keep your customers happy
to end-users (web-based) and lower
 Easy integration with ERP software
support requirements.
used by your business customers,
which will attract and retain
Expand your business both important customers with large
functionally and geographically transaction volumes.
14  A cross-border, local and global  A payment and document gateway,
solution, that meets the complex offering new and reduced-cost
demands of banks with brands and/ added-value services to your
or branches in different countries. business customers, such as
 Flexible choice between different Electronic Bill Presentment and
business models. Payment services (EBPP).
 Thanks to integration with Microsoft
Short time-to-market Office tools (Excel, Access) you will
also increase the efficiency of SMEs.
 An out-of-the-box solution
bundling over 10 years of eBanking
experience for 30 banks.
 Fast configuration and
customisation
 Isabel’s know-how as an operator
accelerates effective deployment
and support
 Isabel users
Isabel bank references

15
About Isabel
Isabel specialises in developing and supporting corporate eBanking and electronic
invoicing systems. Its solutions are used by a vast number of financial institutions
and bank associations throughout Europe. Isabel has developed extensive business
know-how by operating its own multi-banking solutions within the Belgian market
for 25 banks and 110,000 corporate customers. Thanks to its Zoomit solution,
Isabel is also the ideal EBPP partner for exchanging documents with consumers
and SMEs via Internet Banking. This unique combination of business knowledge
and ICT solutions makes Isabel’s offering extremely attractive for any bank that
is looking for a complete, flexible and reliable solution. Founded in 1995, Isabel is
privately owned, employs 110 people and is based in Brussels. Further information
is available at www.isabel.eu and www.zoomit.eu.

More information: Contact:

www.isabel.eu/forbanks [email protected]

Editor: Philippe R. Dubois, Bd de l’Impératrice 13-15, 1000 Brussels - Belgium, Ref. Isa/flyerINT1007-E