Barclays signs £45 million BPO contract with Siemens Business Services

The extension means that Siemens will continue to manage areas of retail banking back office operations for one of the worlds largest banks. The contract also includes Barclaycard, the companys credit card subsidiary. Siemens has been running areas of Barclays retail banking back office since 2000 including: account closures, transfer of funds and administrative processing for direct debit and standing order instructions. Back office operations have been transformed through improved operational efficiencies and the deployment of new technologies, using the Siemens global service delivery platform. Since the relationship began, Barclays has enjoyed a high standard of service from Siemens Business Services. This has allowed us to focus on our core business and to continue to build on our commitment to exceptional customer services, says John Stewart, service manager, Branch & Customer Account Services. Phil Heggie, Global Director, Financial Services, Business Process Outsourcing, says: We have delivered significant operational efficiencies in the time we have been working on the contract, which has allowed Barclays to release more people into front office, customer-facing roles. The contract extension is a strong endorsement of Siemens capability and the strength of the relationship. It is also a significant step in our aim to become a top three BPO provider in Europe. Siemens established an international business unit for BPO in October 2004 in the UK. It provides processing services in financial services and human resources to a global client base. In the UK, the services delivered to Barclays involve the Glasgow service centre which is also the base for HR BPO services. Siemens has recently announced two major BPO and IT Outsourcing contracts in Great Britain.