Sema Group contracted by BNI for S$1.6m

Singapore, 25 April 2000 - IT and business services solutions provider SEMA Group announced today that it had been awarded a S$1.6 million contract by PT Bank Negara Indonesia, for its SG CardLinK licensed products.

Under the terms of the contract, Sema Group will provide professional services to assist BNI with the implementation of SG CardLinK and its integration with BNI's existing retail banking systems. The first phase of implementation is targetted to be complete by 18 August this year.

"After a thorough evaluation of the credit card management solutions available in the market, we feel that SG CardLinK is most suited to our growing business needs," said Gumirlang S.I., head of BNI's Technology Division. "On top of the fact that SG CardLinK is a proven solution, we are also confident of Sema Group's team of experienced business consultants and IT specialists, who have established a reputable record of assisting many banks in the region to successfully implement their credit card management systems."

Sema Group has been providing integrated credit card management solutions in the Asia Pacific region for about 13 years. It has currently more than 80 financial institutions as its customers in Asia.

According to Tristan Grieveson, managing director for Sema Group in Asia, about 65% of card holders in Asia make use of Sema solutions, ranging from about 50% in Philipines to about 80% in Malaysia.

"In a recent survey by Asian Banker Journal, Asia has a relatively low credit cardable population; not exceeding 30% of the population in the most developed of these countries and falling to as low as 1% in countries such as Indonesia. The low cardable population has led to considerable competition amongst card issuers for a very finite market, resulting in a very marketing-driven industry in the region," said Grieveson.

Doddy Virgianto, credit card manager of BNI, pointed out that the economy in Indonesia was recovering, companies have seen up to 300% increase in business, and competition is getting fiercer. "We have to choose the right partner," he said.

BNI has issued 160,000 credit cards in the last two years, and has set a target of 300,000 total cards issued by the end of this year.

BNI has plans to move into the chip card industry, as part of VISA standards compliance. It also plans to step into mobile banking phase by phase, starting in the 3rd quarter of this year.

Internet banking will be available by June of this year, said Virgianto.