HEADLINES
JOBS
COM:PORT
POLICY POLICE
ARCHIVES

IBM Global may invest in Equifax Venture Infotek

It is understood that this will be first step in IBM Global plans to make strategic investments in a string of companies in the country.

T O D A Y

• The chips are down! • HCL does better • Wipro's Celeron bet • IBM investment

IBM Global Services is initially planning to pick up 5-10 per cent stake in Equifax, a start-up company that focuses on payment processing for credit and debit cards.

An official spokesperson of IBM Global Services is reported to have said "There is nothing in the offing. We have a strategic relationship with Equifax and we will constantly work towards ways to grow this strategic relations stronger."

Equifax Venture is 50:50 joint venture between $1.7 billion Equifax of US and Venture Infotek in India.

Equifax is one of the global leaders in providing financial information and processing solutions, Venture Infotek is a major provider for automated transaction solutions to banking industry in India.

On the other hand, IBM Global is an 80:20 joint venture between IBM and Tata Sons and is an end-to-end services company offering its expertise in industries ranging from banking to manufacturing to system software and hardware design.

Industry analysts tracking IBM Global indicate that this route of investing in promising companies with cutting edge technology will aid the growth of IBM Global in the country.

Interestingly, IBM Global has an eight-man team managing the Equifax centre in Bombay for round-the-clock service for its customers across Asia.

Tata IBM, another 50:50 joint venture between IBM and the Tatas, is also a strategic partner in this company for providing technology.

With an immediate focus on the credit card payment processing in India, Equifax plans to grow into providing advanced services for other consumer payments as ATM and smart cards in addition to debit cards.

The company started operations six ago and has invested around Rs 360 million in its Indian operations. The two joint venture partners have brought in the sum equally.

Equifax has set up the imperative infrastructure for an easy entry for banks wanting to provide credit card services and this infrastructure encompasses the frontend as well as the backend services.

- Compiled from the Indian media

Tell us what you think of this story