ATB Financial Continues to Trust SQN for Exceptional Security

RANCOCAS, N.J., Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For more than 70 years, the residents and businesses of Alberta, Canada have relied on Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB Financial) for the financial services they provide. In addition to the strength of their financial offerings, ATB Financial takes pride in its investments to protect customer accounts and information.

Security is one of the key characteristics of ATB Financial's corporate culture. In addition to all the steps they take to safeguard their systems – including firewall, antivirus and encryption technologies, as well as back office defenses – they work with retail and commercial customers alike to educate them on how to protect their systems and accounts. ATB Financial will go so far as to send bank tech specialists to a customer's home if they have fallen victim to a phishing attack.

ATB has relied on SQN Banking Systems fraud detection solutions for nearly 15 years.

"At ATB, we have a huge focus on security and we've been using SQN products for some time with great success," notes Michael Redeker, the bank's Vice President and Chief Information Officer. "We are all about our customers, and the security of their money and information is our paramount concern."

Since 1998, ATB has utilized SQN's mainframe signature verification solution. When ATB Financial considered migrating from a mainframe environment to a new core processor, however, they needed to update their anti-fraud solutions as well.

"It's my feeling that you only look for new vendors if you are unhappy with the reliability, service or performance of your current vendor," Redeker offered. "We've been very happy with the quality and service we have gotten from SQN over the many years we've worked with them, so there was no need to look elsewhere."

ATB's trust in SQN's products seems to be well placed. To integrate with the new core processor, SAP, the financial institution upgraded to the client server signature verification software, SENTRY: Signature, with the ability to access signatures via web browser. The new software has been deployed to all of the bank's branches to store electronic signatures used to verify checks and loan applications. After just a few short months, the new software has been a huge success, generating positive feedback across the organization.

"We're using the system to access customer records up to 20,000 times per week," Redeker says. "Considering we have 700,000 customers, being able to access their records instantaneously is a pretty significant contribution to our productivity. Since the upgrade, the interface between the two SENTRY products means that our employees are now able to log into one system to access signatures from there. The branch and back office staff really like the update."

The conversion was an extremely easy transition as well. The upgrade was smooth, seamless and speedy, so ATB Financial was able to keep their operations moving. As CIO, Redeker expected to hear about some kind of problem, but admits the only feedback he got was after the conversion was done ... and that input was all positive. "The conversion went really well," he added, "probably an eight or nine out of ten."

The best part was the collaborative nature of the upgrade. While some vendors dictate how a system must be set up, SQN recommended how the upgrade could work while confirming that their suggestions would fit ATB Financial's systems and preferences. If adjustments were needed, SQN made it happen.

That collaboration could be the benefit of nearly 15 years of working together, or it could be the result of a shared passion for protecting customer accounts. Regardless, the continued partnership between ATB Financial and SQN means the residents of Alberta have a secure place to bank.

About ATB Financial
ATB Financial is the largest Alberta-based financial institution, with assets of more than $30 billion. We provide personal, business, agriculture, corporate and investor financial services to Albertans and Alberta-based businesses in 242 communities. We provide service through 170 branches and 130 agencies, telephone and internet banking, a Customer Contact Centre, and automated banking machines. ATB Financial was established in 1938 and has been a provincial Crown corporation since 1997. ATB has won numerous national workplace awards, including recognition as one of Canada's best 50 employers. For more information, visit them online at atb.com.

About SQN Banking Systems
SQN Banking Systems sets the standard for fraud detection and process improvement software for financial services. For nearly 30 years, financial institutions of all sizes have relied on SQN because its suite of SENTRY products delivers improved earnings for customers and can reduce check fraud losses by as much as 84%. SENTRY includes real-time fraud analysis, exception item processing, image fraud detection, automated signature comparison, signature verification and display, transaction analysis and safe deposit operations management. For more information, visit sqnbankingsystems.com.

Contact:
Peter Hale
(978) 388-3100

SOURCE SQN Banking Systems