The Exchange’s Exweb product will become an integral part of Inter-Alliance’s technology platform with all its 1,200 registered individuals having direct access to the quote and new business services. This will enable them to transfer client data from their back-office into Exweb’s services, removing the need to re-enter data many times and greatly reducing administrative processes. In addition, this capability will be extended to Inter-Alliance's non-regulated business lines in the same manner.
Exweb quote and new business services are the most heavily used in the industry with over 18,500 registered users and 99 million quotes processed in 2002. The Exchange and Inter-Alliance will work together to integrate these services into Inter-Alliance’s existing back office administration system, Atlas, to create an e-commerce platform that aims to drive up volumes of new business transacted electronically.
These arrangements further strengthen The Exchange’s position as the primary distribution channel between product provider and intermediary firms and are consistent with its strategy of being the independent portal of choice for the intermediary sector. It is expected that they will result in a net increase of at least 750 Exweb licenses for The Exchange as well as providing another platform to increase quote and transaction volumes.
Sue Summers, managing director of The Exchange, comments:
“We are delighted that another of the industry’s leading IFA firms has selected us to help it develop its e-commerce platform and enable electronic transactions. We are working with Inter-Alliance to ensure our services integrate seamlessly with its existing technology and deliver practical business benefits to its IFA firms.”
Mike Achilles, chief technology officer at Inter-Alliance, comments:
"Inter-Alliance is delighted to announce the launch of this initiative with The Exchange. We believe that technology is a major factor in delivering the prospect of efficient, profitable growth for our IFA community.
“This collaboration represents a further development in our strategic objective to provide IFAs with a first class support capability through partnership with Sector leading organisations. It also reflects our determination to develop simple, easy to use applications that enables our IFAs to yet further improve the service they give to clients."
