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Citigroup Global Transaction Services has launched a strategic white label proposition aimed at helping banks transform their competitiveness.


Borderless Banking allows banks to expand their product range, re-engineer their delivery infrastructure and extend their geographical network by drawing on Citigroup’s worldwide capabilities and local presence – all on a white label basis.


By partnering with Citigroup, banks can access a modular set of products and services without compromising their own identity, independence or customer relationships.


World-class products can be added quickly and cost-effectively to a bank’s portfolio, enhancing its ability to maintain and build customer loyalty.
Borderless Banking enables banks to:


  •  Draw on Citigroup’s global transaction processing power to build operations quickly and profitably – while cutting the cost of ownership.


  •  Add on top-of-the-range globally seamless capabilities and products, supported by a world-class infrastructure.


  •  Extend their geographical network reach by utilising Citigroup’s worldwide network/presence as if it were their own.


  •  Focus on client retention and new business acquisition.


    • Borderless Banking has three dimensions:


  •  Products: Borderless Banking offers banks a wide range of transaction services – in payments and collections, foreign exchange dealing and clearing, securities trading and clearing, sub-custody and agency treasury. Many of these services break new ground. For example, the new Single Nostro account (under development) allows banks to make payments and collections in more than 45 currencies through a single account in the base currency of their choice.


  •  Markets. Citigroup has the largest bank network in the world. With Borderless Banking, other banks can now leverage that global presence to open remote accounts on clients “behalf, availing themselves of all the local cash management services and operational support. Citigroup’s network extension service effectively delivers banks the benefits of a local presence without the investment in bricks, mortar and staff.


  •  Infrastructure: Scale is key in the delivery of efficient and competitively priced middle and back office operations. With Borderless Banking, banks can now gain access to the economies of scale of Citigroup’s worldwide processing platforms and global technology infrastructure by outsourcing selected business operations. In the process, they swap fixed costs for variable; reduce operating risk; and ensure customer satisfaction – while maintaining or improving margins.


    • Borderless Banking gives banks cheaper, faster, more efficient and sophisticated transaction processing power – all supported by Citigroup’s service excellence and global network, claims the bank. Borderless Banking can transform the economics of a bank’s whole business line by allowing them to compete by satisfying the most demanding of customers, it adds.


    Commenting on the launch of Borderless Banking, Tom Isaac, managing director of Citigroup Global Transaction Services, says: “Borderless Banking is a new business model for banks. It gives them the ability to leverage Citigroup’s comprehensive product set while sharing in the economies of scale. Banks gain from the ability to add new products or services, extend their market reach, or cut costs and forward investment commitments. Their customers gain by receiving better service and more competitive pricing.”


    Marion Lang, sales manager, global banks, foreign exchange, Citigroup, adds: “Borderless Banking enables a bank to offer its clients a world-class FX trading service without any of the related infrastructure costs.

     

    Citigroup’s FX technology offers live dealable rates and STP (straight-through-processing) trade feeds backed by the unmatched liquidity offered by Citigroup. It is a powerful addition to any bank’s armoury.”


    Citigroup Global Transaction Services is also offering institutional banking clients access to real-time, multibank, multicurrency Nostro account data through the single log-on industry-wide system developed by Cable & Wireless. This system aggregates transaction data from foreign exchange clearing banks and distributes it, through a centralised secure network, to foreign exchange agents and account holders.


    Citigroup’s international branches can now provide foreign exchange transaction details to the Cable & Wireless Real-Time Nostro (RTN) system and offer Citibank’s clients access to their Nostro accounts via the system.


    This new capability complements the award-winning CitiDirect Online Banking platform, which provides clients with a single view and real-time data on any Citibank account, in any currency, in any branch.