CATUS is a complete modular platform for integrating national and international payment networks. It includes modules for processing and clearing credit and debit card operations in real time and asynchronously, transfers, cheques and direct debits. It has integration connectors for the SEPA and SICOI systems (Portugal) and also for the STC system (Angola).

It is a flexible system that is easily extensible to the specific requirements of each bank, with the possibility of integration with different central systems.

Debit cards

Card management

• Life cycle of the card - creation, maintenance of data and status, history
• Personalized and non-personalized cards
• Renewal and replacement
• Price List

Operations

• Authorization and implementation of Multibanco ATM operations in on-line mode (PRT messages) or offline mode (MFT files)
• Host-to-Host operations, originated by the Bank (SIBS and EMIS integration)
• Registration and look up of operations (with end-to-end tracing)
• Management of "retained amounts" (creation, look up and cancellation)
• Handling of "foreign operations" (withdrawals, purchases, etc.)
• Price List
• Reconciliation and Clearing
  • Reconciliation of card movements
  • Processing of clearing movements, with allocation of accounting items
• Reports
  • Information reports
  • Regulatory reports (VISA and MASTERCARD)

Cross-cutting features

• Alarmistic (available via dashboard, email and/or SMS)
• Concept of "force debit" for some operations, according to bank instructions
• Own commissioning (pricing per items and taxes, with fixed amounts and percentages)
• Webservice
  • Availability of interface for performing operations in the SIBS and EMIS network (Host-to-Host)
  • Availability of card look up operations and its movements

Credit cards

Card management

• Life cycle of the card - creation, renewal, maintenance of data and status, history
• Individual cards, family structures and companies
• Renewal
• Price List

Operations

• Registration of card movements
• Processing of periodic payments associated with monthly fees
• Payment of top-ups and corrections of movements (sent to UNICRE)
• Generation and processing of SIBS payments references
• Update of credit limits (individual and shared) and card statuses (Blacklist), synchronizing information with the bank's central risk database
• Price List
• Reports
  • Information reports
  • Regulatory reports (VISA and MASTERCARD)

Cross-cutting features

• Alarmistic (available via dashboard, email and/or SMS)
• Own commissioning (pricing per items and taxes, with fixed amounts and percentages)
• Webservice
  • Availability of payment operations/topping up card balance
  • Availability of card look up operations and its movements

Management of Automatic Payment Terminals (TPA)

• Management of TPAs - registration and maintenance of data
• Pricing and own commissioning (pricing per items and taxes, with fixed amounts and percentages)
• Processing of close of business of TPA
• Processing of clearing movements, with allocation of accounting items and accounts of merchants (customers)
• Information reports

Management ATMs

• Registration of equipment - registration and maintenance of data
• Registration and Management of cash withdrawal and deposit orders (OLN and ODN) for Bank of Portugal
• Operations of collections/withdrawals and loading/deposit of ATMs, branches and customers
• Cash management service of ATMs, branches and customers
• Control of balance and cash (currencies) deposited and in transit from cash processing centres
• Processing of clearing movements, with allocation of accounting items and customer accounts
• Integration with Loomis
• Information reports

Cheques

Integration models

• Model of integration with SIBS Processos – In this model cheques are sent to the SIBS processos where they are scanned. CATUS integrates and processes the normalized files with information of cheques (registration and images) exchanged with the SIBS Processos.
• Cheque management model in the bank – In this model the cheques are scanned at the bank. CATUS performs the validation and processing of cheques and handles the integration with SIBS.

Operations

• Deposited cheques
• Returned cheques
• Image requests
• Image files

Processing

• Returned items (possibility of postponing return) or requesting image for confirmation
• Management of LUR
  • Processing of Bank of Portugal files
  • Workflow of incidences with management of procedural and documentary notifications (generation of letters)
  • Workflow of procedural and documentary communications (generation of letters)
• Alarmistic and control of legal deadlines for returning items
• Processing of the cheque in the (Debit/Credit) central system
• Viewing incoming and outgoing files
• Processing of received clearing:
  • Presentation of cheques
  • Returns from OIC
  • Look up images, validating signatures
  • Image requests
• Processing of sent clearing:
  • Deposit of cheques/Rejections
  • Returns to OIC
  • Image requests

Additional features

• Integration with LockBox - management of post-dated checks
• Generation of cheque files (customer service) or PS2
• Cheque approval workflow
• Integration with cheque reader devices

Direct Debits (SICOI and SEPA model, from the perspective of debtor bank or creditor bank)

Processing of direct debits in the SICOI (national) and SEPA (Europe) model, from the perspective of debtor bank, creditor bank and lender entity

Management of entities (SICOI / SEPA)

• Management of ADC (mandates) - Creation and maintenance of data and statuses
• Management of Creditor Entities - Creation and maintenance of data and statuses
• Definition of acceptance and exclusion lists (whitelist and blacklist) with the possibility of defining exceptions

Operations (SICOI / SEPA)

• Registration, processing and looking up debit/collection instructions (with end-to-end tracing)
• Validation of debit instructions according to the definitions of acceptance and exclusion lists
• Validation of debit instructions using the AML module
• Issue of reversal / return / refund instructions, on the initiative of the bank or customer
• Clearing processing (SIBS, STEP2/EBA), with allocation of accounting items
• Information reports
• Webservice
  • Availability of operations for defining and looking up exclusion and approval lists
  • Availability of look up operations for mandates and associated debit instructions

Funds Transfer SEPA/SIBS and STC/EMIS

• Request and responses for account detail look ups
• Issuance of transfer issue orders
• Receiving transfer issue orders
• Issue and receipt of returns and rejections instructions
• Validation of transfer orders using the AML module
• Processing transfer orders, allocating to customer accounts (debit, credit and reversals)
• Processing of clearing movements, with allocation of accounting items
• Information reports