Airdrie Savings Bank A global solution solves a local issue pdf

Airdrie Savings Bank
A global solution solves a local issue
CASE STUDY
2
Airdrie Savings Bank
Britain’s last independent bank had to meet
a compliance deadline for its debit card
business. FIS used its global expertise to solve
this local issue. Implementing Cortex proved
a seamless answer to compliance without any
inconvenience to customers.
Airdrie Savings Bank in Lanarkshire, Scotland,
is Britain’s only remaining independent bank,
with seven branches, £150 million in assets
and a very loyal customer base of over 60,000.
The bank has huge support locally: in the
wake of the recent banking crisis, a number
of well known Scottish business people have
deposited £10million with the bank to facilitate
the possibility of the bank’s expansion, thereby
allowing the bank to provide its services to the
wider Scottish community.
Not surprisingly, personal service is the number
one priority at Airdrie Savings Bank and it
takes great care to avoid any disruption to its
customers.
However, the latest round of compliance
mandates from the Payment Card Industry
had taken its card processing system to the
brink. The incumbent supplier was unwilling to
make the changes necessary to meet the new

regulations instead choosing to sunset
the product.
This left Airdrie Savings Bank with a pressing
need to invest in a new system before the
compliance mandate came into effect. But the
bank needed to be sure it could implement any
new system without disrupting service to
its customers.
A thorough search of competitors revealed FIS
Cortex to be the best solution. The only concern
for the bank was that FIS as a large global
information services provider might not be in a
position to help a relatively small bank.
The worry was unfounded and FIS was keen
to show how Cortex could solve the bank’s
problems. Barbara Watt, Airdrie Savings
Bank’s IT Manager explains: “FIS was the
best fit in every way. When we met them we
were impressed by their people, their level
of knowledge and by how well everything
worked.”
Highlights
Airdrie Savings Bank
Britain’s last remaining independent bank.
Seven branches, 60,000 customers, £150
million in assets, and a great deal of trust.
Business objectives
To implement a compliant debit card
processing system without inconveniencing
customers.

FIS solution
•Listen carefully to the business needs of
the bank rather than impose a solution
•Adapt FIS Cortex card processing software
to meet compliance
Benefits achieved
•Ensured PCI compliant now and in the
future
•A seamless switch to the new system, No
disruption to their customers - no new
PIN, etc
•Easily managed solution through a web
portal
•A future-proof system to enable further
development for other cards - credit and
prepaid cards
“The switch was very smooth thanks to
strong project management and the FIS
team’s ability to keep their eyes on the
ball.”
– Barbara Watt, IT Manager, Airdrie Savings
Bank
3
Airdrie Savings Bank
Beating the PCI compliance deadline
Before signing on the dotted line, Airdrie
Savings Bank needed to be reassured that
Cortex would be compliant and that customer
service wouldn’t be disrupted in any way (the
last thing a bank that prides itself on personal

service wants to do is reissue cards and
PIN numbers).
For FIS this meant adapting Cortex to handle
some extremely strict compliance from the
Payment Card Industry. Airdrie Savings Bank
was looking for a long-term solution and, once
FIS could show how compliance had been built
into the system, they had no qualms in signing
for 5 years.
Once the criteria were satisfied, implementation
went smoothly and FIS met the compliance
deadline on time and on budget. Barbara Watt
gives the FIS team credit: “We were impressed
by their project management and how well
they had their eyes on the ball. Cortex is highly
configurable and FIS was able to integrate
it seamlessly with our systems and daily
processes, as well as avoiding large scale in-
house development.”
With a small IT team, Airdrie Savings Bank also
needed a solution it could manage easily. FIS
hosts the software for the bank and gave the IT
team access through a web portal, which allows
them to get advice when they need it.
A future-proof solution
For a bank whose claim is ‘the bank you can
trust’, the most important benefit of the process
was that it was invisible to its customers.
Without knowing it, the bank’s customers were
getting a faster, more compliant debit

card service.
Since the Cortex implementation went live, the
IT team at the bank has been impressed by
how easy it is to run and maintain. Barbara Watt
says: “FIS support through its web portal is very
effective. The responses to any questions we
ask are very prompt.”
Cortex has also given the bank a springboard to
issue credit and pre-paid cards with a minimum
of development. In other words it’s a future
proof system.
For FIS it’s been a pleasure to prove that it
is easily capable of using its global strength
to benefit a smaller bank. It’s very reassuring
to Airdrie Savings Bank that FIS has a broad
range of value-added services, such as fraud
monitoring, that are so relevant to a
smaller operation.
Contact us
For more information on how FIS can help your
business, please visit www.fisglobal.com or
contact us at one of our international locations.
www.fisglobal.com
© 2011 Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
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