Level Four Software, the leading provider of ATM test and development software, today announced that its ATM Channel Development Suite supports the latest International Financial eXchange (IFX) specification, Version 1.5, released in February 2004.
Level Four customers implementing ATM upgrades in line with the industry shift towards an open market for ATM software will benefit extensively from simulated testing conditions that encompass the most current IFX environment.
The adoption of an IFX standard message protocol for communications between banks internal and external systems will complete the move to an open market for ATM software. The new IFX specification extends the ATM, POS, business and consumer banking support provided by earlier releases. Version 1.5 is the result of several years of implementation experience in various commercial and retail banking applications, and builds on IFX's multi-channel capabilities to enable it to be used as a core technology for the EFT industry.
The increased flexibility of the new IFX specification means that financial institutions and service providers are not locked into a single vendor or technology. As such, adoption of IFX offers quick return on investment through operational cost savings, particularly in multi-vendor networks by the use of a common device handler at the host. Using open standards also enables banks to get new features to market much more quickly. Level Four contributes further to operational cost savings and speed to market by automating ATM network testing from a desktop environment, enabling fast and thorough testing schedules that help minimise a bank's exposure to risk.
Martin Macmillan, CEO, Level Four, says, "We have added IFX testing capabilities to our ATM Channel Development Suite highlighting our commitment to the migration to IFX and open standards. The flexibility of Level Four's technology means that, not only can our customers simulate testing conditions in an IFX v1.5 environment, but they can also be confident that Level Four will provide testing capabilities for the next generations of the IFX standard. Work on Version 2.0 that is designed to support web services standards is already under way."
Stessa Cohen, research director, Gartner comments, "Financial institutions, especially in the US, are looking to combine the implementation of the IFX standard with a migration of their ATM network to Windows. ATM networks undergoing complete re-architectures as banks migrate to TCP/IP, Windows and IFX will require extensive testing. ATM testing and development software will benefit financial institutions and pave the way to an open market for ATM software."
Level Four joined the IFX Forum in January 2004. The IFX Forum is a non-profit standards-developing organisation working to develop a robust framework for the electronic business-to-business exchange of data among financial service institutions around the world. Level Four have the same vision as the IFX Forum of developing one common language that is designed for large-scale interoperability, whether exchanging information between internal and external systems.
Level Four believes that IFX is an important financial solution that seeks to bring multiple channels together. Macmillan comments: "Ultimately, banks will benefit from a standard messaging protocol, as 'channel unification' is cost effective from a back office viewpoint. It will also improve cross-selling opportunities and aid relationship building, by enabling increased self-service functionality at ATMs."