February 6, 2001 -- Deutsche Bank has announced an agreement with Sun Microsystems, on behalf of iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions, a Sun-Netscape Alliance that will augment its global online cash management capabilities. The bank has selected iPlanet's BillerXpert, B2B Edition software, one of iPlanet's leading billing solutions, as the foundation for its second-generation, global B2B electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) service known as db-eBills.
The new, significantly enhanced global platform will be launched in the United States, Europe and Asia during the second half of this year and will be hosted by Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank's existing product, db-eBills, which facilitates secured fund transfers and settlement between business partners over the Internet, has been deployed in Asia since July 2000.
Norbert Wanninger, head of Deutsche Bank's Global Cash Management for Corporates, said, We have identified that there is a huge potential for an EBPP solution in the B2B market and have already experienced great success with db-eBills in Asia. iPlanet's commerce services, specifically its billing software application, will give us the flexibility to develop its EBPP solution to the specific needs of our clients. Our new global platform will be a unique offering that will continue to leverage db-eTrustCard, the first Identrus-based hardware security solution used in a live business environment. We expect db-eBills to be one of the pillars in our cash management product suite.
The db-eBills system for billing is designed to improve customer service and dispute resolution, reduce costs and produce a more efficient collections cycle. Payers will see a multicurrency, multilingual system with workflow tools that facilitate easy adaptation to existing business processes and payment methods appropriate to local business practices. Since iPlanet's technology is based on open standards, it is compatible with billers' and billing service providers' systems. Benefits also include a global server network offered by both iPlanet software solutions and Sun Microsystems hardware, ensuring scalability, reliability, security and constant availability.
Mark Tolliver, president of iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions, said, Deutsche Bank is a major player in commercial banking and a leader in B2B transactions, and iPlanet is pleased to have been chosen to help streamline cash management operations for their extensive customer base around the world. B2B billing requires sophisticated technology for automated and customizable processes. We consider Deutsche Bank's decision as a tremendous vote of confidence in our electronic invoice presentment and payment solution and in our ability to deliver continuous and dynamic commerce services.
Corporate customers of Deutsche Bank will be able to use the iPlanet software to process both industry and non-industry data formats. The software has been designed to satisfy the complexities and reduce the costs of B2B billing, enabling full and automated distribution of bills and invoices throughout an enterprise and via the Internet in a secure environment for approvals, disputes, resolutions and payments. This will allow Deutsche Bank to deliver comprehensive online billing services to their clients and deepen relationships with their customers.
Andrew England, head of product management, Global Cash Management for Corporates, for Deutsche Bank, said: The selection of iPlanet followed a rigorous evaluation process. iPlanet's BillerXpert software and additional software tool kits, covering workflow, messaging and conversion capabilities, offer all of the ingredients to develop a truly global platform. The flexible, fully scalable software architecture enables us, through our own dedicated global technology development team, to build a fully functional B2B EBPP capability, incorporating a breadth of collection instruments throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.
