The president of US corporation Cybersource has visited its Belfast office for the first time to mark the anniversary of the operation’s unveiling at the US-Northern Ireland investment conference.

Scott Cruickshank, president and chief operating officer of the California-based electronic payment solutions provider, noted its Belfast Development Centre had grown significantly.

The firm now employs 20 software engineers and support staff in Belfast, with plans to continue expanding the number of staff over the next two years.

“The Belfast Development Centre has gone from strength to strength since it opened in 2008. The team of highly-skilled software engineers is involved in critical business projects which are delivering great value to the CyberSource operation,” said Mr Cruickshank, who was behind the firm’s decision to come to Belfast.

“It has been a very productive first year for CyberSource Northern Ireland.

“The timing of the visit is a particular pleasure as it comes almost exactly one year since CyberSource announced plans to invest in Northern Ireland and tap in to the area’s extraordinary pool of software engineering talent,” he added.

The Belfast operation works with Cybersource’s four main US bases. Global customers using the firm’s applications include British Airways, EasyJet, Apple, Yahoo, Christian Dior and Nike, and according to the company one in every four dollars spent online in the US passes through Cybersource.

The establishment of Cybersource’s Northern Ireland office was one of the few success stories to emerge from the high profile US-Northern Ireland investment conference in May 2008.

While many US companies expressed interest in the province at the event, the onset of the global recession meant little of it translated into actual investment.

Brendan Smyth, CyberSource Northern Ireland’s development director, said: “To have the CyberSource president in Belfast is a strong indicator of how important the Belfast Development Centre is to the organisation.”