Brussels, 15 December 2011

E-invoicing service provider association committed to raising the profile of e-invoicing in Europe

EESPA brings together a fast moving community

Members of the newly formed European E-invoicing Service Providers Association (EESPA) held their first annual general meeting on 13 December and committed the Association to raising the profile of electronic invoicing throughout Europe. EESPA is a trade association for the fast-moving e-Invoicing industry and acts as a platform for industry cooperation on non-competitive issues.

To date, the EESPA is composed of the following 37 Service Providers : Accelya France SAS - AdValvas Europe - Anachron - Atos Worldline - B2Boost - Basware - Bottomline Technologies Europe - b-process - Capgemini - Causeway - Cegedim - Certipost - Crossgate - Crossinx - Edicom - Esker - Eurobits Technologies - Evenex Aps - First Business Post - Fundtech FSC - GXS - Itella Information - Logica - Nordea Bank - OB10 - OFS Portal LLC - Pagero - Royal Bank of Scotland - Sage - Seres - SIBS Processos - SIX Paynet - STFD-Transfond - TecCom – Tieto - Tradeshift - Unified Post.

At the meeting, Esa Tihilä of Basware Corporation was elected as first Chair of EESPA. He will be supported by Charles Bryant of OB10 as Vice-Chair, and nine Executive Committee members who represent a wide range of European e-invoicing service providers.

Through e-Invoicing, organisations replace paper invoices with electronic transactions to realise cost savings, speed-up payments, save carbon, and improve transparency and liquidity. With material savings for enterprises of all sizes, adoption is increasing rapidly with business and consumer markets growing by 30%-40% per annum.

The growing community of service providers plays a key role in providing solutions and on-boarding invoice senders and receivers. The promotion of e-invoicing and supply chain automation are key priorities within the EU Digital and Single Market Agendas.

EESPA’s key objectives for the benefit of this evolving market include:

1. Promoting interoperability and the creation of an interoperable eco-system
2. Advocating and supporting the wide adoption of e-invoicing and its benefits
3. Representing the industry, engaging in the public policy debate and recommending best practice within appropriate European forums
4. Providing services to its members

Based on open and transparent admission criteria, EESPA welcomes new members who provide compliant e-invoicing services to third party customers. EESPA will also be launching an Associate Member programme.

About EESPA

EESPA has been formed and registered as an international non-profit association (AISBL) under Belgian law. As a trade association for the e-Invoicing industry, EESPA acts as a platform for industry cooperation on non-competitive issues.

For more information: www.eurobits.com