IFX for the ATM/POS Industry

For general information about the IFX Standard please go to www.ifxforum.org/standards.

Many of today's ATM and POS environments use proprietary message formats. IFX is a business message specification that can be used as a financial industry standard eliminating the need for using proprietary message formats from ATMs or POS devices.

The benefits of IFX are numerous, including a more competitive vendor marketplace and easier integration with other channels and systems, as well as more detailed information to manage your network.

Addressing ATM/POS Industry Requirements with IFX

Though IFX is not specific to the ATM/POS industry, it is the defining standard for interoperability between ATM/POS terminals and authorizing systems.

The IFX business message specification used as a financial industry standard eliminates the need for proprietary message formats from ATM or POS devices. The multi-channel consistency (Internet, ATM, POS, Teller, etc.) guarantees reliability and generates significant cost savings.

The benefits of IFX include:

  • Easier integration with other channels and systems
  • More detailed information to manage your network.
  • Vendor and technology independence
  • Rich and expanding feature set

Integrated with the Rest of IFX

IFX addresses the broader needs of the financial services industry with impact on the vertical lines of business, delivery channels and the vendors that sell into those channels. Financial institutions are implementing financial transactions using IFX for a number of different business offerings -- for example, retail banking, commercial banking, wire transfers and bank-to-bank transactions.

IFX for the ATM/POS Industry -- Features

Benefit Feature
Supports all types of financial transactions
  • Withdrawals, Transfers, Deposits, Account Inquiries
  • Statement print, Passbook print
  • Payments, Bill Payments, Top Ups
  • Credit Card Cash Advance
Full support for security, customer and service profile information
  • PIN Change, Customer Verification
  • DES, Triple DES
  • EMV
  • Remote key downloading
  • Message Authentication (MACing)
ATM Management
  • Device Alert Messages
  • Terminal Management
    • Open/Close messages
    • Local (Reg E) configuration
ATM Inventory Management
  • Currency and Non-currency inventory
  • Terminal balancing and subtotaling
  • Mid-point inventory adjustments

 

The ATM-POS Working Group

The purpose of the IFX ATM/POS Working Group is to create the IFX messages necessary to enable the ATM and POS channels to be supported so that financial institutions will be able to use one standard message specification, IFX, across all their delivery channels. The ATM/POS WG works to accomplish this through modifications and additions to the IFX specification.

Members of the Working Group include hardware manufacturers, software developers, service providers, financial institutions and industry consultancies. Representatives from the ATM/POS WG participate in the IFX Architecture committee meetings, presenting proposed messages or modifications required to meet the channel's needs. The WG meets regularly via teleconference/webconference. Intensive face-to-face working meetings are held in conjunction with the IFX Forum quarterly meetings in various locations.

ATM-POS Implementation Guide for IFX 1.8

The ATM-POS Working Group has developed a comprehensive Implementation Guide for IFX Version 1.8.  You may download it free of charge.  Note that it is a 645-page pdf document, and it may take a little while to load.

What Is the ATM-POS WG Working On?

A key initiative for the ATM-POS Working Group is to guide efforts to integrate the IFX standard in related ISO initiatives – especially TC68/SC7/WG9. This effort began in 2009 and has continued.

The ATM-POS Working Group also continues to define incremental content for both v1.x and v2.x messages and objects.