Unisys and Centricom to change online payment landscape with POLi

Unisys has signed deal to deliver POLi (Pay OnLine), a new online

Sydney, 13 December 2005 – Unisys and Centricom have signed a four year deal to introduce the online debit payment system, POLi (Pay OnLine), into Australia and New Zealand. Unisys will provide outsourced support, sales and customer relationship services.

The new agreement sees Unisys extend its financial service business process outsourcing (BPO) utility into the online debit payments sector. Unisys now provides BPO services for cheque and item processing, mortgage processing, direct entry, online debit payments, lock-box and image archive services.

Unisys will support the POLi service providing a contact centre, helpdesk, hosting, product testing, and transaction processing.

Clicking on the POLi icon will launch an internet banking session between the consumer and their bank, at which point dealings (including passwords) remain confidential and rely on the bank’s secure log-in features to the nominated debit account. The purchase takes place as a secure transaction directly between the merchant and the consumer’s bank account. The back-office reconciliation is facilitated in an automated manner by Unisys through the POLi system.

Simon Warner, Centricom CEO, said, “POLi lets consumers shop online using the security and familiarity of their own internet banking.  It gives merchants access to a group of customers who were previously unreachable, including those consumers who simply don’t have, or wish to use, credit cards for online purchases.

“Together, Unisys and Centricom can focus on the needs of both the consumer and the merchant. The Unisys reputation in financial services, combined with Centricom’s expertise in e-commerce, have already established some significant steps forward in POLi becoming a leading product in its field,” said Warner.

Day one customers of POLi include Stuff Factory Outlet and the loyalty and member benefits provider, Club Lifestyle.

“Unisys continues to define financial services business process outsourcing in Australia and New Zealand,” said Mike Ettling, Vice President Global Outsourcing and Infrastructure Services, Unisys Asia Pacific. “We continue to develop the portfolio of secure back-office systems that sit within our business process outsourcing utility. Online debit BPO is an area traditionally overlooked by outsourcers. Yet a service such as POLi will meet the needs of the millions of Australians who don’t have credit cards, or are reluctant to use them online. And POLi now has the secure back-office bill payment processes it needs to be successful.”

Centricom is backed by one of Australia’s largest private equity investment firms, Jagen Pty Ltd. Jagen is also a shareholder in the company that created POLi, eWise Systems Pty Ltd. Justin Liberman, a Jagen principal, said, “We are very excited about launching POLi with Unisys, and our combined ability to transform the e-commerce market place in Australia.”

The benefits of POLi to customers include secure and convenient online shopping, all financial details remaining with their bank, and no POLi registration is needed.  Merchants will have the benefit of access to a wider range of previously inaccessible clients, flat transaction fees and cleared funds available immediately with virtually no dishonours.

About Unisys

Unisys is a worldwide technology services and solutions company.  Our consultants apply Unisys expertise in consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure, and server technology to help our clients achieve secure business operations.  We build more secure organisations by creating visibility into clients’ business operations.  Using Unisys 3D Visible Enterprise, we make visible the impact of their decisions—ahead of investments, opportunities and risks.  For more information, visit www.unisys.com.

About Centricom Pty Ltd

Centricom is a provider of web-based transaction services including online payments, straight through processing, reconciliation and advanced transaction integration solutions. Centricom's cornerstone value proposition is POLi (which stands for Pay OnLine).  POLi is a web-based payment service that allows anyone to pay an online merchant directly from their bank account via their internet banking facility. Payment is instantly debited from their account and the merchant is immediately notified that the payment has occurred. A credit card is not required.  For more information, visit www.centricom.com.