<p>ARLINGTON, Va. -Cardservicer, a credit card services company, has announced the release of the first new card servicing platform in thirty years. The firm believes its new program, called HORIZON, maybe the only program that uses a Web-based interface in the entire industry. "Credit card issuers can now more efficiently and cost effectively manage their credit card portfolios, with the benefits of easy to use functions, work management features enhancing productivity, and ready ability to deliver enhancements into the platform" said Cardservicer President and CEO Chris Sullivan. "They will no longer be limited to mainframe inflexibility." The HORIZON program can handle the spectrum of tasks involved in managing a card portfolio, said Sullivan. The browser/Windows-based software features drop-down menus and screens that are easy to understand and navigate. It has many advantages over the IBM mainframe technology that has dominated the business, including open market pricing of hardware, he said. As an example of how the software allows the user to be more flexible, Sullivan said that its collections segment could help a company create a more efficient call center. The segment enables supervisors to plan exactly how their staff will work during the day. Although the company stressed that it plans to compete head to head for business from financial institutions, the firm's first customer is a "women's discount clothing chain that runs a private label credit card program." The ease – or lack of it – with which credit unions access their credit card processing system and data has been an ongoing issue, particularly since credit unions frequently lack large staffs to manage credit union portfolios. Both card service companies and portfolio brokers have cited lack of ability and expertise in understanding and interpreting credit card processor data as one reason some credit unions choose to sell their portfolios to banks. PSCU and CSCU, two leading credit union card service organizations, both have programs in place to help credit unions better understand their own data. Although HORIZON is new to the United States, the firm reported that the platform has been used overseas. Banco Superior, of Bogata, Colombia, uses HORIZON to manage its more than one million Visa accounts, according to the firm. [email protected]</p>