Frankfurt, February 2010

ATOS ORIGIN FACILITATES E-PAYMENT OF WASTE DISPOSAL CHARGES FOR RHINE AND INLAND SHIPPING

Introduction of a standard transnational settlement procedure based on prepaid accounts and ECO cards

Atos Worldline, which brings together Atos Origin's core expertise in high-tech transactional services, has signed a contract with the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (ZKR) for the development, implementation and operation of an electronic payment system for the settlement of waste disposal charges for Rhine and inland shipping. The new system aims at simplifying significantly the billing procedure for skippers as well as improving settlement transparency.

Charges based on the Strasbourg "Agreement regarding the collection, delivery and receipt of Rhine and inland shipping waste" signed in 1996 by the neighbouring states of Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands, will be processed via the system implemented by Atos Worldline. For each refuelling procedure, or "bunkering" (i.e. purchase of gasoil and other products that produce wastes containing oil and fat), skippers are required to pay a charge for navigating on the river traffic routes.  

This marks the introduction of a standard, transnational settlement procedure based on prepaid accounts and ECO cards.
Atos Worldline services cover the entire value chain of the e-payment system, including the design, build and run of the system; the installation of mobile payment terminals with SIM cards and specific software development, through to prepaid ECO card orders.

Waste disposal charges settlement, registration and administration will be carried out via the new e-payment system. ECO cards are connected to corresponding virtual accounts and pre-charged by card holders. Atos Worldline also provides its XENTISSIMO mobile payment terminals at the bunkering location, enabling immediate calculation of skippers’ waste disposal charge. A wireless connection is established to the transaction system in order to confirm and register payment of the waste disposal charge. Settlement follows via the virtual prepaid account in the administration system.

"With the solution designed by Atos Worldline we can greatly simplify the billing procedure for skippers as well as clearly improve settlement transparency for signatory state supervisory authorities," stated Hans Van der Werf, Deputy General Secretary of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine. 

"We are happy that the prepaid concept was satisfactory to all participating countries and that we can immediately proceed with implementing it. On the basis of our contractual agreement, we will not only replace the previous processing system, but also reproduce the full Card Management Process," said Willy Heeren, Director Payment Systems Integration at Atos Worldline in Germany.

About Atos Origin

Atos Origin is a leading international information technology (IT) services company, providing hi-tech transactional services, consulting, systems integration and managed operations to deliver business outcomes globally. The company’s annual revenues are EUR 5.5 billion and it employs 50,000 people. Atos Origin is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic Games and has a client base of international companies across all sectors. Atos Origin is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market and trades as Atos Origin, Atos Worldline and Atos Consulting.  For further information, please visit www.atosorigin.com

About Atos Worldline

Atos Worldline brings together Atos Origin's core expertise in hi-tech transactional services. A leader in end-to-end services for critical electronic transactions, Atos Worldline is specialised in electronic payment services (issuing, acquiring, terminals, card and non card payment solutions & processing), eCS (eServices for customers, citizens and communities) as well as services for financial markets. Atos Worldine on-going commitments to research and innovation enable its customers to benefit from award-winning solutions in areas such as mobile payments, secure IPTV, online CRM and paperless solutions. Atos Worldline generates annual revenues of €814 million and employs over 4,800 people in Europe. For further information, please visit: www.atosworldline.com

For further information, please contact:

Anja Stothfang                                                             Emilie Moreau
Phone: +49 69 66 57 14 01                                          +33 (0)1 55 91 24 74