Midas Kapiti

BIS Banking Systems / Midas Kapiti

Kingsley-Smith and Associates

Kingsley-Smith and Associates [KSA] was formed in 1972, initially as a full software service company comprising 5 people serving Manufacturing, Banks and Insurance Companies within the UK. By 1973, the company had expanded to around 20 personnel, and begun to focus on UK Banks and Foreign Banks which had operational activities in London. KSA realised a gap existed in packaged software aimed specifically at Banks, at the same time as IBM released its System/32 , later known as IBM 5320, as a new small PC system which could easily be programmed in RPG.

MIDAS

David Shaw had created a MIDAS software system in 1972 for Jaguar Rover Triumph - the acronym then standing for Management Information Distributor Accounting System, but as System Architect for the banking packages, believed a more orthodox definition of 'Midas' would stand the IBM System/32 based packages in good stead.

The MIDAS banking system was designed in 1975 at Kingsley Smith and Associates by Barrington(Barry) Fludgate. It has nothing to do with the MIDAS created by David Shaw. It was the brain child of Achie Reid a then director of KSA. The system was originally going to be called FALCON, since SWIFT had just been announced, but at the last minute was changed to MIDAS (Modular International Dealing and Accounting System), the name was suggested by Jeremy Blackman, one of the two original programmers on the development. The development phase consisted of three people, Barry (designer and architect), Jeremy (technical programmer) and John Gilbert (business programmer) The system was built for the newly announced System 32 in RPGII. The first sale was made to Australia and New Zealand Bank in early 1976 and was installed and running live in their New York office in the summer of 1976.

BIS Banking Systems

In 1976 KSA/Midas was sold to the BIS Group. The company was called BIS Software and the main office was in Lincolns Inn Fields. The Managing Director of BIS Software was John Prosser with the charismatic Stan Smith as the Sales Director. David Tebbs (see ITNEA) became CEO in 1983 and later moved the business to Wimbledon and the company was re-named BIS Banking Systems. In 1988 the BIS Group was bought by Nynex, an offshoot of the recently demerged AT&T, and by this time the Midas banking packages supplied 900+ of the world's 1,000 largest banks.

Midas became the standard package for banks worldwide by the end of 1970s, and remains the world's most successful banking system. Since 1976 the Midas family of banking-packages has led the market with more world-wide customers, more awards, and more capability than any other. The system had markedely broader integrated functionality than the simple standalone packages available at the time, and reduced risks bringing efficiency due to standardised, automated processes. Midas was the first system to introduce global processing to the core banking industry - a means of driving down risk and improving efficiency as never before.

In 1993 BIS Banking Systems merged with ACT and later with Kapiti and Kindle Banking Systems.

Misys International Banking Systems

The merged companies were acquired in 1994 by Kevin Lomax's Misys PLC, at the time an insurance financial services software business. On 1 October 2001, Midas-Kapiti International [MKI] was renamed as Misys International Banking Systems. The new name formed part of an extensive re-branding exercise undertaken by the company, which also embraced sister companies MKI Frustum and the Credo Group, becoming unified under the new Misys International Banking Systems brand name. Midas is now a core part of Misys PLC, and remains the world leader in banking packages.

Original Kingsley-Smith and Associates: Brian Kingsley-Smith, David Eley, David Mitchell, David Shaw and David Harington.

External links

• http://www.misys.com/
• http://www.misysbanking.com/
• http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MSY.L
• http://www.bobsguide.com/guide/prod/477_MIsys_Midas_Plus.html

References