PostFinance, the financial services provider of Swiss Post, acquires a stake of 25% in Swiss Interbank Clearing Ltd. The investment brings with it a seat on the Board of Directors of Swiss Interbank Clearing Ltd. The participation will reinforce the existing cooperation between PostFinance and Telekurs Group and create a basis for joint developments in the field of payment transactions

By the acquisition of a 25% stake in Swiss Interbank Clearing Ltd, PostFinance advances the convergence of the two independent payment transaction systems and the creation of a common platform for future developments. This will enable the financial services provider of Swiss Post to develop the Swiss payment system more effectively. There is already close cooperation between PostFinance and the banks: the network of Postomat and Bancomat ATMs has been opened up reciprocally; moreover, PostFinance handles payments in euros in Switzerland via the euroSIC system and holds a stake in SECB Swiss Euro Clearing Bank GmbH in Frankfurt. Customers of PostFinance and the banks benefit from this cooperation. Swiss Interbank Clearing Ltd is a company of Telekurs Group, which belongs to the Swiss banks. As the central hub for interbank payments in Switzerland, it handles the SIC and euroSIC clearing systems for some 400 Swiss and international banks and financial institutions. The SIC system, one of the world's leading RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement System) payment systems, provides optimized cash management plus rapid and secure settlement of Swiss franc payments. The euroSIC system enables payments in euros to be made both in Switzerland and abroad. It provides a link to European payment systems as well as an efficient cross-border payment gateway (payments in euros to and from other European clearing systems). Swiss Interbank Clearing AG also operates the direct debit (LSV) and data carrier exchange (DTA) payment systems.