LINK has demonstrated the breadth of its capability by the development of Mutual Plus, its low cost branch-sharing service, on behalf of Yorkshire Building Society and Britannia Building Society.

This pioneering venture allows the four million customers of the two Societies to use each others' network of branches to carry out basic transactions - including cash and cheque withdrawals and deposits, between selected savings and mortgage accounts - over the counter.

LINK provides a complete service to Mutual Plus Ltd in addition to the central transaction switching, including daily settlement; file extracts, online transaction data and management information; monthly fee billing; and connection service/support for new joiners.

The branch sharing service, launched in 2001 marked a significant development for LINK; it represented the Company's first venture away from ATM-related services and into the wider financial transactions arena.

LINK's expertise in the business of switching transactions made the sharing of branch services between the two Building Societies possible and offers the possibility of seamless integration of additional banks and building societies should prospective participants wish to join the branch sharing service.

LINK's accreditation to BS7799 for its Information Security Management System provides protection of all over-the-counter transactions carried out under the Mutual Plus initiative - within the branch, in transit to LINK's system and in onward transmission to the partner. LINK's technology uses a common message format for each participating institution, allowing connections between LINK and their own systems - and is secure, robust and low risk/low-cost.

Copyright (C) LINK Interchange Nework Ltd 2005