Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets and enterprise
resource planning (ERP) provider Bellin have jointly developed a
banking solution for Virgin Atlantic.

Host2Host – the new service which was
implemented in six months uses a centralised bellin solution as a
Single Payment Gateway across the airline’s different business
units and locations. The system facilitates connectivity between
the airline’s ERP system and Lloyds’ transactional banking process
using SWIFTNet.

“When we talk about Host2Host, what we’re
really talking about is eliminating desktop banking.  Instead
of a desktop BACS software product that has its own screens,
log-ins, smart cards, and workflows, if you have an ERP system that
is capable of managing your workflow, you can leverage that
capability and talk natively from your ERP system into a
transactional process,” said Mike Rayfield, senior Product Manager
at Lloyds Bank

The new system is said to have lowered Virgin
Atlantic’s administrative and operational costs by £100,000 per
annum.