LONDON, February 4 /PRNewswire/ --

- Acquisition Creates World's Largest Payment Routing Data Provider

Accuity, the global leading provider of payment routing data, AML screening software and services, today announced that it has acquired 100% of London-based CB.Net, a reference data provider for the global banking community. The acquisition, which is effective immediately, brings together two of the world's largest payment data providers. Thousands of financial institutions and corporates worldwide already rely on Accuity and CB.Net to improve rates of payment straight through processing (STP).

The acquisition will significantly bolster Accuity's existing customer base of over 15,000 clients in 150 countries and create the largest, most comprehensive payment data provider worldwide.

Merging CB.Net's strength in the European market, particularly its strategic partnerships with the European Payments Council (EPC) and the Euro Banking Association (EBA), with Accuity's well-respected history and unrivaled product portfolio will deliver immediate value to both firms' current and prospective customers, said Hugh M. Jones, President of Accuity.

The combined company represents a formidable presence in the global payments industry and will deliver additional value and services to financial institutions worldwide. Accuity is now the authoritative source for all global payment data and sets the standard for the industry.

The combined company’s market-leading payments products include The Global Banking Resource(TM), Global Payment File(TM) and IBAN File from Accuity and CB.Net’s BankSearchPlus(TM), BroadcastAlert and BroadcastSearch. These products offer a wide range of critical payments data including SWIFT/BICs, active and inactive national clearing codes, Standard Settlement Instructions (SSIs), SEPA Credit Transfer Adherence Participants and IBAN routing information.

Since establishing CB.Net in 2000, we have strived to provide the payments industry with the highly coveted 'golden copy' of reference data - a trusted set of data for managing all aspects of payment STP within one organisation. This merger makes that goal a reality. said Ian Dunning, Managing Director of CB.Net. I am looking forward to the new opportunities that this merger provides and the new capabilities that it delivers to the marketplace and our partners.

As one company, Accuity and CB.Net offer the best single source of payments data, more solutions and greater flexibility to the marketplace, said Jones. Together, we will immediately begin the work of building even stronger solutions to better serve the payment operations of banks and corporates globally.

About Accuity

Accuity is the leading provider of global payment routing data, AML screening software and services that allow organisations, across multiple industries, to maximise efficiency and facilitate compliance of their transactions.

As the Official Registrar of ABA Routing Numbers since 1911, Accuity maintains the most authoritative and comprehensive databases globally with a reputation built on the accuracy and quality of our data, products and services.

For more than 150 years our worldwide clients, located in over 150 countries, include C-level executives, managers, and technology professionals. The solutions and services we provide are packaged in multiple formats to serve their diverse needs.

About CB.Net

CB.Net is a data provider dedicated to the delivery of reference data solutions to the global banking community. Established in June 2000 by a group of ex-bankers and IT professionals, London-based CB.Net recognises the importance of reliable reference data in meeting compliance requirements and bringing cost savings and greater efficiency in international payments. The strategic focus of CB.Net's Payments Reference Data Service (PRDS) is to develop products and solutions for the international payments industry. CB.Net is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Accuity.

Contact: Kelly Murray, GolinHarris, +44(0)20-7067-0470, kmurray@GolinHarris.com