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The Interactive Financial Exchange (IFX) Forum Releases for
Public Review Version 1.4 of its Specification

Join financial leaders at the upcoming IFX Forum Meeting, Feb. 4-6, in Denver

Alexandria, Va., January 17, 2003 - The Interactive Financial eXchange (IFX) Forum released for public review today the latest version of the IFX specification, Version 1.4, which incorporates new features to support ATM, POS and other financial channels. This new version builds on IFX's multi-channel capabilities, such as enabling customers to deposit, withdraw and transfer funds, and allows financial institutions to exchange essential information with their customers, their service providers, and other financial institutions.

"We found the IFX Forum to be very receptive to our proposal to leverage IFX standards for ATM systems," said Rick DuVall, ACI Worldwide Senior Product Manager and Vice-Chair of the IFX ATM/POS Working Group. "The resulting message specification brings more openness and flexibility to the ATM industry, allowing financial institutions to apply a common message standard to support not only multi-vendor ATM environments but also other delivery channels. This simplifies operations for our customers and, through the use of XML technology, allows them to reduce time to market for new features and functions."

"IFX is a well-designed specification developed by both the financial industry and its technology providers - a productive collaboration that produced an extensible and interoperable standard for all the industry to use," said IFX Forum Chairman Mark Tiggas of Wells Fargo Services Co.

The public review period ends on Feb. 14, 2003. Visit http://www.ifxforum.org to view, download, and comment on v1.4. Members and nonmembers alike are invited to attend the next face-to-face IFX Forum Meeting Feb. 4-6, 2003, in Denver where comments received on IFX v1.4 will be reviewed and work on the next version - 1.5 - will continue. IFX v1.5 is slated to include such functions as pre-paid phone recharge capabilities, person-to-person payments, and several check-related and money order purchase features. To register, contact Jay Devine at 703-518-4164 or info@ifxforum.org.

IFX v1.4 contains numerous new and enhanced messages with some of the following features:

Business Banking

  • Extends the foreign exchange information messages offered by IFX to include more information in the FX deal request and confirmation process.
  • A suite of messages to support corporate positive pay services
  • Functionality to support a 'push' model with introduction of 'Advise' verb for applicable objects, i.e., payment status and balance and transaction reporting

ATM/POS

  • Enhancements to credit messages to support cash and check deposits
  • A new payment message that allows customers to use cash or a check to make a payment toward a bill or debt
  • Debit & credit message enhancements to provide better support for both ATM and POS channels
  • A new bank account statement image inquiry message for printing pre-rendered statements
  • Improved statement inquiry messages to better capture and use marketing-related information
  • New security messages that allow remote key-loading and restoration of security keys if lost or corrupted, and include the encryption algorithm embedded in the IFX messages
  • Enhanced messages to provide EMV (Europay, MasterCard and VISA) support used by smart cards
  • Enhanced message support for Message Authentication (MACing) for application level security
  • New messages that report changes to and retrieve information on a device at an ATM terminal
  • New messages for logically representing a terminal
  • Reversal messages were added to allow an IFX client to reverse a prior message request

About the IFX Forum The IFX Forum is made up of leading financial institutions, service providers and software vendors. Membership to the IFX Forum is open to anyone interested in contributing to the development of open financial standards that harness the power of XML. The IFX Forum is currently organized into the following working groups: ATM/POS; Business Banking; and Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment. IFX Forum working groups, in concert with an Architecture Committee to coordinate their efforts, develop open Internet-compatible messages for all sectors of the financial services industry. To learn more about the benefits of IFX Forum membership, please visit http://www.ifxforum.org.

IFX Forum Press Contacts

For additional information:
email info@ifxforum.org
Phone: +1 (781) 876-8811
Fax: +1 (781) 224-1239

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