Phoenix in the news again - with further proof that IFX is the ATM "language" of the Future!Release content referenced from the IFX Forum website (www.IFXForum.org) Production-Ready Demo System Validates Latest Version of IFX Standard, V 1.6 Six members of the Interactive Financial eXchange (IFX) Forum participated in demonstrating an ATM system utilizing the newest IFX message format. The production-quality system ran simultaneously in the Diebold, NCR, Phoenix Interactive and Wincor Nixdorf booths, all communicating with a single IFX device handler in ACI Worldwide's booth. Some of the solutions also incorporated IFX-based solutions from Brixlogic. All the companies noted are IFX Forum members, and the demonstration took place at BAI's Retail Delivery Conference and Expo held recently in Las Vegas. The IFX Forum, comprised of representatives of leaders in the financial services industry, is a not-for-profit standards-developing organization working to develop a robust framework for the electronic business-to-business exchange of data among financial service institutions around the world. "The Retail Delivery show IFX demonstration shows that companies, as well as customers, are seeing the benefits of using IFX to operate their ATM networks, including reduced integration costs, reuse of development from one channel to another, and reduced training costs, to name a few," said Rick DuVall, ACI Senior Product Manager responsible for ATM products. "The result will be more cost-efficient self-service transaction processing, a better customer experience and better platform for addressing developing market requirements." "This remarkable demonstration showed firsthand how the interoperability resulting from IFX implementation brings important benefits to financial institutions, such as consistent channel integration, a single view of the customer and flexibility at providing new services," said Xavier Wartelle, CEO of Brixlogic. "With its high-quality, industry-driven standard, the IFX Forum is providing a solid foundation for banks and other providers to migrate to a new world of financial self-service solutions." "As a multi-vendor ATM software provider, we have always believed in open, non-proprietary standards, which is why we fully support the significant effort being put forth by all members of the IFX Forum," said Scott Anderson, Director of Business Development & Client Services at Phoenix Interactive. "Our active participation in the IFX Forum allows us to effectively communicate client needs that require action. Those needs will, in time, produce a feature-rich messaging protocol that will be leveraged by financial institutions around the world. Our decision to demonstrate the power of IFX on multiple manufacturers' ATM platforms at the recent Retail Delivery show validates the flexibility and feasibility of this new standard and applauds the continued industry migration to open solutions." "NCR and ACI also demonstrated IFX at the 2003 RDS conference, and were particularly excited about showing this year's attendees how their IFX solutions had evolved into complete solutions in 2004," said Anne Cant, NCR's representative to the IFX Forum. "NCR and ACI also spoke about making IFX a reality for ATMs, during a well-attended conference session." For the ATM system interoperability demonstration, ACI Worldwide's server software and IFX device handler were connected to the IFX clients of Phoenix Interactive, Diebold, NCR and Wincor Nixdorf. The ATM hardware manufacturers -- Diebold, NCR and Wincor Nixdorf -- ran IFX systems on their hardware connected to ACI. Diebold was using Brixlogic to connect its ATM terminals to ACI, and Phoenix Interactive -- a multi-vendor ATM Software manufacturer -- ran a common image of its ATM terminal software with IFX on multiple types of ATM hardware also connected to ACI, further demonstrating IFX's success in true multi-vendor applications. The Phoenix Interactive and NCR demonstrations employed actual customer applications. "Our members' cooperative demonstration yielded a validation of our mission and focus on interoperability," said Richard Urban, President of the IFX Forum. "The number of companies involved is impressive testimony to the production capabilities of IFX as a true interoperable standard. It is also gratifying to see proof that members' participation in IFX Forum activities can directly lead to cutting-edge business activities. Most of the systems demonstrated were production-ready or in production." The latest version of the IFX specification, Version 1.6, also incorporates support for the International Standards Team Harmonisation (ISTH) collaboration initiative's deliverable, an XML core payment kernel for corporate-to-bank payment initiation and status messages. The IFX Forum worked extensively on the ISTH initiative as a key member in this successful first phase, which has involved major international banks and standards organizations, including several of the member companies participating in the ATM demonstration. The Forum's next face-to-face meeting will take place in Dallas, January 10-13, 2005. Prospective members are invited to attend free of charge, to become familiar with the group's activities before formally joining. Advance meeting registration is required; go to www.ifxforum.org for details, or contact LeAnn Wilson at info@ifxforum.org. About the IFX Forum
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