Level Four Provides Support For Latest Version of IFX Standard

Level Four Softwares 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 IFXs 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 banks exposure to risk. 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.