New Functionality Gives Clients Greater Control and Convenience
Barcelona, New York – February 28, 2012 – Citi today announced that its CitiDirect® BE Mobile service, developed by the Global Transaction Services unit, has reached a significant milestone, processing over $1 billion in total transactions value.
Since commercializing the browser-based mobile application in August, Citi has made the solution available to an additional 56 countries across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Central, South and North America, the Caribbean and Asia. New functionality allowing clients to do more has also been added. CitiDirect BE Mobile is now available in 80 countries and jurisdictions worldwide including 300,000 users representing over 50,000 clients.
Andy Cronin, CFO & Head of Capital Markets of Avolon in Ireland said, “Our executive team operates in a global environment with extensive travel and 24 hour operations. The mobile functionality has proven a reliable and efficient tool offering greatly improved access to our payments system, while preserving control of the matrix of authorities. Having implemented the system in the past months, it is already a core feature of our cash management.”
In addition, Felix Hidalgo, Finance Manager at Mercasid SA in the Dominican Republic, shared, “Using CitiDirect BE Mobile has been a total success in the way I do my job. It allows me to step out of the office and travel freely without my laptop”
Developed by the Citi Innovation Lab Dublin in conjunction with the CitiDirect technology team, CitiDirect® BE Mobile allows clients to access core transaction functionality available with CitiDirect Online Banking using their mobile phones and tablets. This new solution initially allowed clients to receive SMS alerts and authorize payments pending approval. New features and functionality have been added allowing entitled mobile users to:
- Release payments for straight through processing
- Check account balances and transaction status providing for added convenience
- Select from Romanian and Russian language options in addition to the previously available Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), English, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish, all supporting client demand and Citi’s global footprint of over 80 countries
- Optimize usability of their mobile phones with an enhanced user interface design
Naveed Sultan, Global Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions at Citi, says “We are delighted by how quickly our clients have embraced this mobile solution. We have more than exceeded our goals in terms of usage, transactions processed and global reach. As the needs of our clients change, it’s important that we are able to provide mobile solutions that allow them to do more and benefit from all the efficiencies that would be available to them at their desktop. With this new feature functionality, we are doing just that.”
The countries and jurisdictions that have launched the solution to date include Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Channel Islands, China, Chile, Colombia, Congo (DRC), Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jersey, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam and Zambia.
CitiDirect BE Mobile will continue to be rolled out globally throughout the remainder of the year.
Global Transaction Services, a division of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group, offers integrated cash management, trade, and securities and fund services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations around the world. With a network that spans more than 95 countries, Citi’s Global Transaction Services supports over 65,000 clients. As of the fourth quarter of 2011, it held on average $368 billion in liability balances and $12.5 trillion in assets under custody.
About Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.