In
issue 00:03:01 we told you about IrFM, a non-proprietary payment protocol
that functions as “a common track” for processing digital payments. At
that time, the Infrared Data Association (IrDA) had
approved a Special Interest Group (SIG), there was strong interest
in IrFM from industry members, and the concept was scheduled to be
presented to The Financial Services Technology Consortium. (The FSTC
sponsors project-oriented collaborative research and development on
interbank technical projects affecting the financial services industry.)
In
the interim, FSTC’s executive committee reviewed and subsequently
approved the SIG’s proposal. The official form was that of a Memorandum
of Understanding, which created a link between IrDA, a non-profit
association that promotes and sets standards for the exchange of data
between electronic systems using cordless, infrared connections, and FSTC
to open a bilateral flow of information. IrDA is charged with setting and
supporting hardware and software standards, that use infrared
communications links,and the IrFM SIG will post progress reports on
specification development and FSTC will encourage its bank membership to
participate in requirements definitions and marketplace trials. The IrFM
SIG plans similar approaches to relevant trade associations so that all
stakeholders in payments systems have a voice in developing the
“wireless” financial messaging protocol.
In
the 00:03:01 article, we noted that developing a new payment system is an
evolutionary process. First, the concept needs to be introduced to
industry members and possible partners. So, the first step was to go to
IrDA.
The
evolutionary process seemed to pick up speed at the IrDA’s most recent
quarterly meeting. The group accomplished four tasks and is working on a
fifth.
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The IrDA’s Marketing, Technical, and Architectural committees examined
and approved the IrFM Directional Paper. IrDA’s Board of Directors
approved the paper on July 20, 2000.
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IrDA elected H. R. Damon Gonzalez, Jr., Vice President-Business
Development of CrossCheck, Inc., to Co-chair the IrDA Marketing Committee
as a part of the association’s strategy to significantly expand the use
of Ir technology. IrDA’s objective is to foster compelling software
applications that ride on infrared. The IrFM project is seen by the
association as its key initiative in this strategy. Gonzalez told us,
“Among the new watchwords in the network world is M (mobile)-Commerce,
the business of transacting commercial events literally from a rock in
Biscayne Bay. IrFM is about laying tracks in this wireless environment.
IrDA has successfully spread infrared technology into over 150 million
portable devices. IrFM then is potentially the ‘killer app’ for both
infrared technology and consumers on the move.”
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ACTiSYS, a manufacturer of infrared dongles, will be taking CrossCheck’s
Check Authorization demo product and the IrFM White Paper (a portion of
which was printed in the 00:03:01 issue of The
Green Sheet) to IrDA Taiwan for a live
demonstration of infrared financial messaging capability originating
offshore ultimately to be processed on CrossCheck’s AS400 database. In
addition, ACTiSYS will be showing this demo and the IrFM vision to
representatives of the government in Taiwan for possible use in some of
their payment systems.
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The IrFM project is working on a script for Pilot 2 which will feature the
initiation and settlement of actual payments based on processing to a
consumer’s asset account (checking/DDA account) or on settlement in a
liability account (credit card account). CrossCheck will be developing the
capability for settlement to DDA accounts. The project is simultaneously
working with Visa International to develop the credit card settlement
capability.
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Finally, the IrFM project has been working on a joint venture between two
large oil companies to explore the use of IrFM specifications as a
mechanism for consumers to pay for their fuel at the pump using infrared
light.
The
next step is to finish the first draft of the IrFM specification which
will be the groundwork for the final architecture of the protocol. The
project is also preparing for World PC Expo 2000 in Tokyo, Japan where it
plans to show Pilot 2, the demonstration of payment instruction,
clearance, and settlement.
As
a part of our efforts to keep you up to date on the evolution of infrared
devices, and payments in general, we will continue to publish progress
reports. For more information about IrDA activities, visit www.irda.org.