OB10 are pushing hard to provide fully integrated services across Europe. They are setting up interoperability partnerships and adopting the new standards.

Interoperability agreements
OB10, a global e-Invoicing network, and Anachron, a leading e-Biller in Europe, are the first organisations to use the Model Interoperability Agreement, recently launched by the European e-Invoicing Service Providers' Association (EESPA), as the basis of a contract to inter operate within the Benelux region.

Commenting on the value of EESPA's agreement, Gary Benson, VP Corporate Development at OB10, said, "As a neutral and comprehensive starting point, the Model Interoperability Agreement makes the contracting process quick and straightforward. In particular, it supports a number of legal frameworks, which are critical to processing fully compliant electronic invoices for our customers."

Frank Hoekstra, CEO of Anachron, adds: "The Model Interoperability Agreement contributes heavily to the general acceptance of international e-Invoicing among the users, our clients. Providing multiple delivery channels and improving roaming options are key to the development of the global e-Invoicing market and are finally enabled by the standardised contract."

Supports e-Invoice standard ZUGFeRD for greater e-Invoicing adoption among SMEs
OB10 are now supporting ZUGFeRD, a cross-industry standard for PDF invoices, which was developed by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), the Federal Ministry of the Interior, and BITKOM, the Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media, and includes input from OB10. It has received senior backing from the government and was recently launched at high-tech event CEBIT.

The standard will help more small-to-medium-sized enterprises benefit from electronic invoicing by sharing structured invoice data within a PDF invoice. ZUGFeRD ensures the file complies with legal requirements, and can be easily read and processed without manual intervention. A PDF invoice alone is as prone to errors and compliance failures as a paper invoice.

OB10 customers can already make use of the standard. "ZUGFeRD, in conjunction with OB10, brings compliant, straight-through processing to PDF invoices, which are used by many SMEs," said Markus Hornburg, Managing Director, OB10 Germany. "We are the first global service provider to support its development and are delighted to offer it to our network members.“

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This agreement between OB10 and Anachron will facilitate the exchange of e-Invoices through both networks. It is the first of many such inter-operability partnerships. We will only get full e-commerce when there are inter-operability deals between all the leading global, regional and country e-invoicing networks. The adoption of the new standards is also vital in ensuring full e-invoicing across Europe.