LONDON -- Level Four Software, a provider of ATM test and development software, has been recognized by The Banker magazine with the publication's best smart card services award in the retail markets category.
According to a news release, Level Four won the award for its EMV FastTrack tool, which helps banks migrate their ATM networks to support EMV (Europay and MasterCard, Visa) smart cards.
The Banker, part of The Financial Times Group, is honoring companies that have developed innovative and successful technology in the financial industry over the past 12 months, according to the release.
EMV FastTrack helps banks shorten the deployment cycle to introduce new services at the ATM, by reducing the time it takes to test EMV applications and infrastructure. This is particularly important as the European banking industry faces a deadline of January 2005 to meet EMV smart card specifications.
According to the release, EMV FastTrack creates virtual cards and simulates all the components in the banking network from end to end, automating the testing process so that staff no longer have to conduct manual testing.
Abbey National was the first UK bank to work with Level Four to test EMV upgrades to its ATM network. EMV FastTrack evolved from that project, which began in 2000. Following the success at Abbey National, other financial institutions have become Level Four clients, including Nationwide and Royal Bank of Scotland.
EMV fastTrack is part of Level Four's ATM Channel Development Suite, a toolkit that allows financial institutions to develop, test and deploy new ATM content and applications. Other plug-ins include ATM Simulator and ATM Developer.
