FIX Protocol Ltd (FPL) has sent a request for proposal (RFP) to six firms that responded to a recent request for information (RFI) regarding the development of a certification programme for users of the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) messaging standard.
The six vendors that responded to the RFI are B2BITS, FIXML Flyer, LLC/Tepin Information, Javelin Technologies, Swift, Thomson Financial AutEx and TransactTools. The FPL Certification Working Group held a Q&A session for the respondents last week.
The RFP - developing an FPL sponsored Certification Programme - is now available on the FIX Protocol Web site. The deadline for submission of responses is 17 November 2003.
FPL says the main aims of the programme are to reduce both the cost and effort associated with implementation and utilisation of the FIX protocol, improve the overall quality and consistency of FIX and promote compliance with the standard.
Initial certifiers will be announced in December 2003.