Idrbt Unveils Structured Messaging System

The Institute for Development and Research in Banking and Technology (IDRBT) today launched a structured financial messaging system (SFMS) here.

The solution, launched by R B Barman, executive director of the Reserve Bank of India, would serve as a platform for intra-bank and inter-bank applications covering the Indian financial network (INFINET) hub. The solution is designed by Tata Consultancy Services.

Addressing a bankers' gathering here after launching the product, Barman said SFMS would be integrated with the public key infrastructure (PKI) which is also being developed by the IDRBT in the next few months.

The system can support all customer transactions like fund transfers, bills, cheques, government transactions, currency chest transactions, security transactions that include government securities and investments, public provident fund, travellers' cheques etc.

With INFINET and SFMS, the backbone is available for leveraging other applications such as electronic funds transfer, real time gross settlement system, delivery versus payments and electronic debit.

"As part of SFMS, the necessary infrastructure has been created that consists of branch front-end terminals, bank gateways and a central hub," said N G Subramaniam, vice-president, TCS.

The product meets security requirements of authentication, authorisation, integrity, privacy, non-repudiation and conforms to ANSI standards as given by the Vasudevan Committee report on technology upgradation in the banking sector, he added.

The system will be initially implemented at about 3,000 branches of 30 banks in the first phase and will be extended later to all the 194 participants of INFINET at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore to these institutions.

IDRBT has also applied to the Controller Certification Authority of India for being appointed as a certification agency.