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A Case Study: How CIGNA Streamlined its Foreign Currency Payments

CIGNA, an international employee benefits provider, makes cross-border payments by wire, check and ACH to more than 225,000 beneficiaries in over 70 countries. The company wished to simplify and automate its foreign currency payments. Key objectives were to accelerate payment processing time, trim cost and to ensure a superior service to their clients.

The Problem: Payment Timing is Critical to Service Quality

Typically, producing checks and Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statements (i.e., remittance advices), adds a week or more to processing time in addition to the time for crossborder delivery. But payment timing is of the essence. The payment process must be as effective as if the beneficiary were using a local insurance provider while also reflecting the superior service that CIGNA provides.

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The Solution: Simple and Seamless

Citigroup provided CIGNA with a single solution for all of its cross-border payments. CIGNA uses a direct file-delivery connection to send one payments file to Citigroup covering all of its foreign currency payments. WorldLink® Payment Services handles the rest. Printing and distributing checks with EOB details at Citigroup's regional centers accelerates check payment.

Citigroup debits CIGNA's U.S. bank account for an aggregated amount covering the total dollar equivalent of all foreign currency payments. Following payment execution, the bank sends CIGNA one file with full payment details to facilitate automatic reconciliation.

Simplicity Yields Rewards

According to Andrew Mellen, Senior Vice President of CIGNA's expatriate division, "Citigroup has provided us with a sophisticated and reliable solution that simplifies our foreign currency payments. WorldLink® Payment Services has enabled CIGNA to streamline our cross-border payments and shorten payment cycle time while improving customer satisfaction. Now, beneficiaries receive payments twice as fast as before.

"Being able to pay our customers in foreign currencies in various payment methods without having to maintain accounts around the world is a major benefit."

Mellen notes that the ability to track payments through WorldLink® enables enhanced customer service and provides an end-to-end audit trail that strengthens controls and supports regulatory compliance.

One Solution, Many Applications

Where checks or paper remittance persist, achieving a paperless operating environment-and seamless execution across paper and electronic payments-is still possible.

Examples of other payments where WorldLink® can help:

Expatriate payments

Pension benefit payments

Vendor payments

T&E expenses

Dividends

And many more!

To learn more, visit Citigroup's WorldLink® Web site at www.worldlink.com.

Financial Services Industry

A Case Study: How CIGNA Streamlined its Foreign Currency Payments

Global Finance, Apr 2006

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