Citi Launches Citi(R) Managed Identity Services

Transactions

NEW YORK–(EMWNews)–Citi announces the launch of its high-assurance digital identity

solution — Citi^®

Managed Identity Services. This new offering from Citi’s

Global Transaction Services business enables Citi clients to use digital

identity and signature technologies to effectively and securely manage

the exchange of electronic information in digital commerce and business

critical transactions.

The expansion of electronic commerce and globalization of supply chains

is driving companies to streamline their business processes and move to

a sustainable, industrial-strength, paperless environment without

compromising security, confidentiality, compliance, and integrity of

transactions. Citi’s Managed Identity Services

provides clients the requisite security and assurance framework to

confidently transact business. As part of the solution, Citi issues

digital identities that can be used in a number of ways including

authenticating end users to applications, encrypting and locking down

data, and replacing “wet ink”

with digital signatures, without compromising legal enforceability.

In 2007, Citi conducted a ‘soft launch’

of the business to gather market feedback and to conduct pilots and

proofs-of-concept around the use of high assurance digital identity in

business-to-business interactions. As a result, Citi is launching a

number of new capabilities in 2008 including high-assurance

authentication and authorization capabilities, which provide firms

fine-grain visibility and control over the end-to-end payment

transaction process.

Secure Authorization for End-to-End File Processing

The importance of fully traceable audit trails and fraud prevention has

clients enhancing the controls associated with the end-to-end payment

processes in both centralized and decentralized treasury environments.

Clients are mandating better visibility and control between payment

origination and final approval by Treasury. Citi’s

Secure Authorization solution provides robust controls and audit trails

for an end-to-end payment system starting at the enterprise level and

funneling to Citi’s backend for payment

processing, providing clients with greater transparency into workflow

and associated risks.

“Our product vision is addressing the

critical business problems faced by our clients today,”

says Paul Galant, CEO of Global Transaction Services at Citi. “Coupling

the strength and value of our higher identity assurance processes backed

by bank-grade service reliability with value-added services, allows us

to provide complete solutions that create greater efficiencies for our

clients.”

Automating the Bank Account Management Process

In today’s global business environment,

clients are often dealing with hundreds of bank accounts across the

globe. Working with our clients, Citi is building a solution using

high-assurance digital credentials to significantly streamline and

automate the overall process. As part of this process, Citi has been an

advocate and active member of a SWIFT working group focused on creating

and adapting standards around automating the bank account management

process.

Electronic Bank Account Management, expected to be released later this

year, will enable clients to reduce the paper and duplication associated

with account related events such as incremental account openings,

signatory management, and account maintenance across multiple legal

entities and/or accounts. Authorized persons will be able to

electronically initiate new account requests, establish signer

authorizations and issue other account maintenance instructions via

documentation that is digitally signed and transmitted to the bank via

one transmission. The improved electronic workflow will enhance clients’

ability to more effectively and efficiently manage accounts globally in

an online straight-through manner.

Working with the Industry to Promote Widespread Adoption

Citi is working closely with leading industry providers including

IdenTrust, the bank-sponsored digital identity organization, of which

Citi was a founding member, and SAFE-BioPharma, which manages and

promotes identity management standards for the bio-pharmaceutical

industry. Citi is one of the key IdenTrust issuers as well as the first

bank to become certified on the SAFE-BioPharma Certificate Bridge

Authority. Citi also recently became a member of the Liberty Alliance,

the global identity consortium working to build standards for operating

in a more trusted Internet for consumers, government and businesses

worldwide.

“Banks are uniquely qualified to offer high

assurance identity management services to corporate clients,”

said Susan Feinberg, Research Director for Wholesale Banking at

TowerGroup. “Marrying the traditional

business of authenticating and standing behind customers with advanced

solutions provided by key technology partners is the best way to assure

that the banking industry is positioned to meet the emerging needs of

its clients to conduct secure B2B ecommerce on a global basis. “

Since its inception, Citi Managed Identity Services has garnered a

number of industry awards for its innovative approach to identity

management including a FutureNow Innovation Award from Bank Technology

News, a Banker Technology Award for Secure Authorization Services from

The Banker, as well as being named a Model Bank by Celent, the

international strategy consultancy, for our ground-breaking work in the

use of digital identities in the banking industry.

For more information on Citi Managed Identity Services, visit www.identitymanagement.transactionservices.citigroup.com

Global Transaction Services, a division of Citi’s

Institutional Clients Group offers integrated cash management, trade,

and securities and fund services to multinational corporations,

financial institutions and public sector organizations around the world.

With a network spanning over 100 countries, Citi’s Global Transaction

Services supports over 65,000 clients. As of the 1st quarter of 08, it

held on average $283 billion in liability balances and nearly $13

trillion in assets under custody.

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200

million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries,

providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a

broad range of financial products and services, including consumer

banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities

brokerage, and wealth management. Citi’s

major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith

Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com

or www.citi.com.

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