The SmartVista Back-Office component directly responsible for adding Customer Applications is the SmartVista Application Interface. The settings and functionality of this interface depend on the bank's internal business procedures and requirements and is subject to customisation at the solution implementation stage.

The standard way to submit applications to SmartVista Back-Office, whether for cardholders or merchants, is via batch files. These files may be produced either directly by the bank’s Retail System or manually, with the help of a standalone SmartVista Application Entry module. Each file will be marked with the Officer ID and the Agent Institution (Branch) responsible for this set of applications.

The alternative way to enter an application is via a SmartVista Back-Office GUI form, which may be made available to a branch officer.

The Application Interface can be used to submit any number of application batches per day, so that they can all be processed by SmartVista Back-Office. Each batch file will have a unique File Identification Number (FID).

The application processing within SmartVista breaks down in three stages:

Initial Processing. During this stage the application batch file is loaded into the SmartVista Back-Office system and stored in the Applications Table. The actual application records can be viewed and, if necessary, amended by a bank officer. Within this stage the application data is checked for the existing Person and Address details against the Database, and also whether any applications from this customer have been rejected previously. Upon completion of the checks, the application status can be changed to Rejected.

Final Verification. This stage of verification is performed automatically to make sure that there are no inconsistencies between the application details and the information already held in the database. The application details will have to be either accepted or rejected in full, and in the latter case, the application processing will return to the previous stage.

Database Population. This is the final stage of application processing where all the SmartVista data items, entities and references are created in the SmartVista Back-Office database so that the customer's wish expressed in the application could take effect. For cardholder applications, the required Customer, Cardholder, Card and Account records are created in the database in accordance with the application type and Card Contract being used. For merchant applications, the relevant merchant hierarchy entities, like Merchant, Department, Outlet and Terminal, and references to them are also created.

The application processing at the Final Verification and Database Population stages will depend on the Templates associated with the Contract.