Interview with Sylvie Solignac, Chairman of the Eurogiro Board

Eurogiro's new Chairman is Head of International Office at La Banque Postale in France, and was among the founders of Eurogiro. In this interview she expresses her view on the aspirations and challenges of Eurogiro.

 

Sylvie Solignac has an exceptionally broad understanding of the payment financial markets domestically and cross border, both within Europe and in other regions of the world. She understands the particular role the posts can play for instance in strengthening infrastructure and financial inclusion. Mastering the languages of French, English, Russian and Arabic she will have a rare ability to foster the dialogue and mutual understanding across cultures that is essential for a global community like Eurogiro. Sylvie Solignac holds the position as Head of International Office at La Banque Postale in France and has been in the Eurogiro Board since 2009

The payment market and Eurogiro have changed dramatically since you witnessed the creation of Eurogiro around 1992. What do you regard as the greatest achievements of Eurogiro since the start and what should Eurogiro focus on to meet the challenges of today ?
Eurogiro positions itself as a provider for banks and Postbanks, whereas before it saw itself as a provider for posts and Postbanks. In my view, the main achievements are: the creation of a low value payment service that secured low costs from using standards which again led to high STP. It was a leap forward in terms of security and cost of processing transactions between posts. Today Eurogiro is more than an alternative to SWIFT, it has developed into an expert in low value payments. Also, the many partnerships it has formed over the years are very important. And finally, we have a dedicated staff in Copenhagen that monitors the improvements and relations of members and not least the members that contribute on many levels to the shaping of Eurogiro. The main challenges are to embrace the new technologies of Person-to-Person payments into our interbank infrastructure. Another challenge is how to support the intra-regional traffic outside Europe, mainly Asia and Africa.

Partnerships have been very important in the history of Eurogiro; how do you see these developing in the future?
I would like to see Eurogiro continue with its structure of partnerships, but would like to see even more synergy and joint development of services. Deutsche Bank has provided reach across the globe for members. The relationship has grown to include USD settlement service and eventually they took a seat on our Board and are now a shareholder of Eurogiro. We also have a very strong relationship today with, for instance, Western Union which has been very valuable for Eurogiro and especially its postal members. These are good examples to follow in other areas as well, such as with new technology providers.

Ascot 1990; The group of founders of Eurogiro and front-runners of the first Eurogiro Board of Directors and Steering Committee. Sylvie Solignac is in first row to the far left

La Banque Postale has a strong position in the top echelons of both Eurogiro and the UPU, and the two organisations recently signed an agreement to link their networks. How do you see the potential of this for members of the organisations?
There is a huge potential for developing traffic across these two networks. Some postal operators within UPU and/or Eurogiro are quite interested in such a link. There are also some important differences between the two systems, in handling of Know Your Customer compliance or in settlement, to mention a few. However, I am confident that we will see this agreement come into force before the end of this year.

The strongest growth in business is in Asia, how do you see Eurogiro best positioning itself to take a role in this development?
We took the first step with the representative office in Singapore, employing one senior sales person there. The governance of Eurogiro should evolve to reflect the fact that much of most recent and forthcoming business would be in Asia and especially between countries in Asia. The Board is currently working on ways to further engage members in Asia in the development and we will make proposals to members in the near future. Our Asian Customer Council is already a very active contributor to the modelling of Eurogiro for the Asian market.

Eurogiro is well represented in French-speaking areas outside Europe, but not yet present in all French-speaking countries, for instance in Africa. Do you see a new opportunity for Eurogiro and Eurogiro members with French leadership in Eurogiro?
Looking ahead, Africa will play a crucial role. We note that China is already very active in Africa. I expect much development in this region in the future. I visited Gabon recently, the second richest country in Africa, and found that much is being done to increase intra-regional traffic, for instance from Gabon to Togo and Cameroun. Others are already very active in this region, and the World Bank is also focusing on this now. We already have several members here, in Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Togo and Madagascar and we look forward to additional members, for instance Algeria. We are ready to fund some development for new members to enable them to connect their IT and secure good processing quality.

Finally, what mark will we see from your Chairmanship in Eurogiro?
We are at a crossroad, with many critical issues to be faced at the same time. New technology is emerging for payments; SEPA is changing the payment landscape completely in Europe while business is expanding in Asia. Eurogiro wants continued cooperation with existing partners, while building new partnerships. Many crucial actions have been taken successfully by previous Chairmen. I intend to lead the Board and the community in the same spirit.