Quipu Processing in Kosovo - IPC

Company Profi le

QUIPU [khipu]
A „quipu“ was a device invented by the ancient Incas, using knots to
store information. The choice of name not only reflects our international
background and our focus on information systems; it also expresses our
constant striving for simple yet ingenious solutions which can function
even in environments that do not have a sophisticated technological
infrastructure.
QUIPU -
THE SERVICE
COMPANY
Quipu Sh.p.k., based in Prishtina, Kosovo, is a modern and highly
flexible card personalisation centre. It is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Quipu GmbH, an IT service provider and processing centre
headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
The parent company, Quipu GmbH, was established when the
prominent German consulting firm Internationale Projekt Consult
(IPC) GmbH decided to spin off its IT operations to form a separate
company. IPC has over 25 years’ experience in the implementation
of financial institution building projects in developing countries
and transition economies, and Quipu’s expertise and business
orientation are built on that tradition.
True to our philosophy, we have made values such as reliability,
trust and comprehensive service an integral part of our work.
We guarantee high quality service and fast delivery of individual
orders, regardless of quantity. We pride ourselves on our ability to
build strong customer relationships by providing all-round service
in an uncomplicated way through an expert team of personal
advisers and technicians.
quipu | the company
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GLOBAL APPROACH
Quipu is an international company in
every sense of the word. Our customers
receive support on all IT-related matters
either from Quipu’s headquarters in
Germany, or from one of the 5 regional
offices in Macedonia, Kosovo, El Salvador,
Russia and Ukraine.
Our main customers to date include the
members of the ProCredit group, an expanding
network of banks dedicated to
serving micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises and low-income households.
Today there are 22 ProCredit Banks operating
successfully in as many different
countries in Africa, Latin America and
Eastern Europe.
The vast majority of them are running
the banking software developed by
Quipu and operate their card business
in collaboration with Quipu’s processing
centre in Frankfurt. The personalisation
of the magnetic stripe and EMV
chip cards issued by the banks is carried
out by us, Quipu Sh.p.k. in Kosovo.
In addition to our presence on three
continents, our international character
is also reflected in our staff of handpicked
experts, with no fewer than 10
different nationalities represented. This
puts us in a unique position to offer a
localised service on a global scale.
A PASSION FOR PROBLEM-SOLVING
quipu | the company
At Quipu Sh.P.K., Prishtina – as in the other divisions of Quipu –
we relish the opportunity to implement ambitious projects in
challenging environments. It is no coincidence that Quipu’s first
project to set up a card processing system, including the personalisation
of banking cards, was undertaken in Kosovo, only a short
period after the province had emerged from ethnic conflict.
And more recently, Quipu installed the first ATM ever to go into
service in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We fervently believe
that – by providing technologically advanced cashless payment
facilities which conform to stringent Western European standards
of efficiency and security – we can make a significant contribution
to stabilisation and development.
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HIGHLY MOTIVATED
All Quipu employees receive comprehensive training in our
regional offices and training centres, and remain in constant
contact with their colleagues all over the world.
PRODUCTS
AND SERVICES
BIG PRODUCT VARIETY
At our plant in Kosovo’s capital city, we
personalise magnetic stripe and EMV chip
cards for small-to-medium-sized banks
and other institutions. In recent years the
geographical scope of our operations has
expanded considerably. We currently supply
personalised cards to institutions in Europe,
Africa and Latin America.
We offer significant advantages to all clients,
regardless of size and ordering cycle.
Quipu serves a niche market. To secure a
competitive advantage, many small to
medium-sized banks need to place relatively
small orders (less than 1,000 cards
a week) in short ordering cycles. Quipu
understands and responds to this need.
The structure of our personalisation centre,
quipu | products & services
Many of the institutions that form our
client base are banks belonging to the international
ProCredit group. For the Pro-
Credit Banks in Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia,
Serbia, Bosnia, Romania, Georgia,
D.R. Congo, Nicaragua and El Salvador we
personalise cards issued by Visa, Master-
Card (Maestro) and also by the domestic
payment systems that operate in some of
those countries.
combined with the in-depth knowledge
of our personnel, enables us to supply
banks and other institutions with a fast,
high quality service regardless of scale.
Moreover, we are there to provide advice
and practical support at a personal level.
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FAST, ON-TIME DELIVERY
If you cannot afford to wait a long time
for your consignment of personalised
cards, we are the right people to turn
to. Working in close collaboration with
our logistic partners we guarantee
timely and cost-efficient delivery to any
location in the world.
A delivery of fully personalised cards to
the other side of the world (e.g., from
STAFF OF HAND-PICKED EXPERTS
As soon as they join our staff, all Quipu
employees receive comprehensive training
in our regional offices and training
centres, and remain in constant contact
with their colleagues all over the world.
Our efficient communications network
ensures that information travels quickly
between continents, allowing us to present
solutions within a very short time.
Thanks to Quipu’s flat hierarchies and
Prishtina to El Salvador) takes only 6
working days from the date on which
the order reaches our office. Deliveries
within Europe are significantly faster.
To ensure a maximum level of security
during transit, we ship our cards
exclusively through logistics firms with
a proven reputation for reliability and
efficiency, such as DHL.
friendly working climate, our staff are
exceptionally highly motivated. Urgent
problems are not left unresolved until
the next working day, but are dealt
with as soon as they occur – even if
that means working around the clock
in an emergency. Taking responsibility
for finding the solution that is in the
best interests of our customers is a key
principle within our company.
WIDE RANGE OF PRODUCTS -
NOT ONLY FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
We have invested in state-of-the-art
technology in order to provide a complete
range of card personalisation services,
which includes both magnetic stripe and
EMV chip cards.
At present we work primarily for banks,
and financial institutions will remain our
focal target group. Even so, we do not
personalise cards exclusively for banks,
but are also able to serve other kinds of
firms and institutions. The smart cards
we offer can be programmed to meet
the specifications of any service package
that our clients wish to offer their
customers.
Indeed, any company with a core customer
base can gain advantages from
quipu | products & services
our card personalisation service. In
close consultation with you, we strive
to identify ways in which cards can
open up new business opportunities for
your company. In an ongoing process
we personalise your customer cards in
accordance with your wishes and your
corporate objectives. And our service
does not end when the cards leave
our plant: you can always turn to us
for further support, e.g. by opting for
the ongoing service package provided
through our processing centre.
In addition to personalisation, we can –
at the client’s request – help to set up
a dedicated hardware infrastructure to
make the implementation of your card
business as easy as possible for you.
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SYSTEMS
AND SECURITY
SECURITY THROUGH EMV
In addition to cards which store data
on magnetic stripes, we are increasingly
personalising EMV chip cards. Using
the EMV standard means additional
security, as the data stored on the chip
is encrypted to make it impermeable
to unauthorised access and virtually
impossible to copy.
This highly secure method of storing
data enables our customers to offer
offline transactions via their terminals
while still being able to check the PIN.
This function is particularly advantageous
in countries where the communications
infrastructure is not stable.
Furthermore, the data stoage capacity
on a chip is very large, allowing data
to be stored there in any format. This
in turn means that our services can
be used to good advantage by highly
diverse companies for a wide range of
purposes beyond banking.
QUALITY AND SECURITY THROUGH
VISA CERTIFICATION
Certification by Visa represents one of
the highest levels of security possible in
the plastic card industry. This degree of
security is guaranteed at every stage of
our production process. As an officially
certified Visa personalisation centre, we
are entitled to personalise Visa products
for customers anywhere in the world.
Needless to say, we rigorously adhere to
all Visa standards, and undergo quality
audits by a team of Visa inspectors on an
annual basis.
The Quipu philosophy can best be summed
up by the term „full service“. When
implementing new products we are able
quipu | systems & security
In October 2006 we became an officially certified Visa personalisation
centre. This means the highest level of security
possible in the plastic card industry. Secure operations
trough our entire production process are guaranteed.
to draw on the combined expertise of a
reliable and competent IT team and all
the resources of a full-scale processing
centre. This means, for example, that
in addition to card personalisation, we
can place the services of the processing
centre in Frankfurt at your disposal,
ensuring that all card operations are
optimally coordinated.
Whenever our clients have questions,
problems or suggestions, all they have
to do is contact a single provider who
is always fully informed about all of
their processes and therefore ideally
equipped to take whatever action is
necessary.
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SETTING UP
CARD PROCESSING IN KOSOVO
The difficult post-conflict environment in Kosovo required a high
degree of flexibility and creativity. Our project managers led this
ground-breaking project from conception to successful implementation.
It is thanks to our expertise and dedication that the bank’s
card business continues to thrive.
BEST
PRACTICE
Today Kosovo can justifiably claim to be
one of the best covered markets for debit
and credits cards in Southeastern Europe
– there is at least one banking card in
almost every household, and people have
come to rely on the services that card
ownership offers.
Challenging environment
This is even more remarkable when one
remembers that as recently as the year
2000 the banking sector was in a state of
total collapse. The military conflict had destroyed
much of the existing infrastructure
– eventually bringing financial operations
to a complete standstill.
In this context, ProCredit Bank, to this day
one of our largest clients, opened its doors
in the winter of 2000, and for almost two
years it was the only bank to operate in
post-conflict Kosovo. A pioneering venture
in itself, the bank soon faced an overwhelming
response from the general public.
quipu | references
Need for automated services
The bank rapidly had to find a way
to automate its cash handling and
cash-related customer services. Quipu’s
technology played a crucial role in this
process, and was soon to become the
backbone of Kosovo’s ATM operations
and cashless payments. The project to
implement banking cards in ProCredit
Bank Kosovo was initiated in summer
2001, and by the winter of that year
the first ATMs were already online.
Adding new products and services
Since 2001, more than 300,000 cards
have been personalised by Quipu and
distributed to clients of ProCredit Bank
Kosovo. Our efficient help desk has always
provided invaluable support, and
the close cooperation between Quipu’s
advisers and the bank’s management
has been crucial in enabling ProCredit
Bank to run its exemplary banking card
operations in Kosovo.
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QUIPU KOSOVO
Our headquarter is situated in the heart of Kosovo’s
capital city, Prishtina. From this location we offer the
complete range of card personalisation services, and
supply our products to customers all over the world.
Card Personalisation Centre
CONTACT US
If you are interested in our services and products and/or want to
know more about Quipu, do not hesitate to contact us.
Quipu Sh.P.K.
Card Personalisation Centre
Rr. „Rexhep Mala“ 16
Prishtina (Kosovo)
www.quipushpk.com
Please contact:
Björn Pysall
Manager
Tel.: +49 69 506 990 234
pysall@quipugmbh.com
Ardian Xh. Behluli
Deputy Manager
Tel.: +381 38 246 010
behluli@quipugmbh.com
quipu | contact
Concept and production: www.provenit.de

www.quipushpk.com