Even though the peak growth period for the critical payment cards infrastructure (core processing, issuing, on-the-ground POS/ATM acquiring) was in the ’90s and early ’00s, there are still opportunities to be found in the space.
Particularly if you are a small or mid-sized financial institution. You might already have BIN sponsorship, core processing, and acquiring services from one of the well-known processors. And, given the number of customers these processors have, you certainly know how painful and time-consuming it can be to have anything changed or tweaked in these systems you don’t control. It can be months of endless meetings, calls, and paperwork to get anything done. Meanwhile, the competitors are getting ahead as you are waiting ..
So, if the pace of change is a painstaking issue, what are the alternatives then?
For one, you could build your own core processing in-house. Why not? It’s a viable option if you have deep technical knowledge and expertise in this industry and some $50M or so to experiment with (and that doesn’t even include ongoing support and enhancements).
Alternatively, you could purchase a core processing solution (with Switch, CMS, network, POS/ATM interfaces, etc.) from a large and well-known vendor, that has been around since the ’80s-’90s. Then you’d be dealing with legacy architectures and software frameworks that are simply not built to quickly launch and scale in the interconnected world of web services and APIs. On top of that, such a project would probably cost $2M+ in cash upfront, with consequent support and maintenance payments of $500,000 or more yearly.
Still sounds like too much, given your budget? Is there a better solution, more relevant to the needs of smaller institutions and flexible enough to keep pace with rapid market disruptions?
We believe there is!
Processing Platform was created as a result of immense experience D8 Corporation has accumulated in more than 20 years in the payment cards business. Doing a lot of payment card processing integration projects for large and established institutions, we have seen firsthand how these institutions depend on a whole stack of legacy systems to operate their infrastructure. For them, it makes total sense to purchase one of the large and well-known solutions, because these solutions fit perfectly into their infrastructures.
Unfortunately, we have also seen how the same well-established solutions do not fit well into the infrastructures of smaller institutions, that have built their infrastructures on a set of modern, web-first technologies. That’s why we decided to seize the opportunity and fill this gap.
Processing Platform is a lightweight core processing solution, built on a microservices architecture that is capable of handling high TPS loads while delivering excellent performance. Microservices architecture makes this solution easily scalable, both in terms of functional modules used, and in terms of processing volumes. Processing Platform supports various redundancy cluster configurations out of the box, including multi-node Active-Active clusters, to ensure maximum system availability at all times.
Processing Platform consists of the following components: Authorization Core/Switch, CMS module, Device interfaces (POS, ATM, mPOS, softPOS), Network interfaces (VISA (Base I / SMS, Base II), MasterCard (CIS, IPM)), and Integration interfaces (Host-to-Host ISO8583, RESTful APIs).
This is a central module to any Processing Platform installation and provides common services such as transaction logging, transaction routing, and encryption operations. Additionally, the module includes components for communicating over TCP/IP and a standard clearing transaction format based on the VISA base 2 standards.
It also incorporates all administration functionality required for managing users and user groups in the Online GUI. Authorization core can handle multiple currencies and work in multi-tenant mode, serving multiple clients on one system installation (perfectly suitable for launching processing services).
Authorization core supports a wide range of transaction types:
Authorization core module also manages keys that are encrypted and stored by HSM devices. Processing platform supports the standard 3DES double lengths keys. As an OEM Gold partner of Thales, D8 Corporation can offer Thales payShield 10k HSMs bundled together with this platform.
CMS module allows issuers to configure card products, issue cards and manage their lifecycle. If you’re migrating to the Processing Platform from your existing processing service provider, you can easily import your existing card portfolio by using proprietary Processing Platform’s batch files (JSON-based), customized batch files, or REST API.
CMS module includes the ability to generate card numbers, print PIN envelopes, and generate corresponding encryption data, such as CVVs and PVVs. For card production, Processing Platform can export JSON formatted personalization files, which then can be easily processed by card personalization bureaus anywhere in the world. Processing Platform uses an internal ID system to identify cards, therefore not revealing any open PAN numbers in the GUI and in system reports. Open PANs are stored in encrypted form in the database, as required by a PCI DSS standard.
D8 Corporation is also certified by PCI DSS and develops and tests all products in PCI DSS-certified environment. You can verify our PCI DSS certification here.
Processing Platform supports all major card types (magstripe, EMV, contactless) and card product types (Debit, Credit, Prepaid). Complex, many-to-many customer/card and full multi-currency account relationships can be defined, thus enabling the issuance of travel, remittance, and corporate card products.
Processing Platform performs card routing and authorization by BIN ranges. BIN ranges are configured in CMS and contain default parameters that will be applied automatically to any card linked to that range.
Processing Platform offers interfaces for connecting various acquiring devices to the platform – stationary POS terminals, Cashiers, portable POSes (mPOS), ATMs, and softPOS servers.
Processing Platform supports 2 POS message protocols for connecting stationary POSes and Cashiers: the Hypercom Message Specification and D8 Corporation’s proprietary ISO8583-based specification. For mPOS and softPOS servers, Processing Platform offers either D8 Corporation’s proprietary ISO8583 Host-to-Host interface or REST API for direct, web-based communication.
As for ATMs, the Processing Platform supports both NDC and DDC protocols. Both protocols can be run at the same time, thus ATMs from multiple vendors can operate simultaneously in the system. The system is able to keep separate configurations (screens, states, etc.) and can be individually linked to the terminals. The module provides different reports on the connected ATM devices: current status, events that occurred, note counts, and alerts operators through GUI when note replenishment is needed.
Processing Platform supports transaction processing over a standard online connection to VISA Base I (incoming and outgoing) and a standard online connection to MasterCard CIS (incoming and outgoing), as well as SMS for outgoing POS VIP acquiring.
Processing Platform supports importing and exporting of VISA Base II and Mastercard IPM clearing files and generation of interchange messages for dispute processing, such as chargebacks, representments, adjustments, fraud advices, fees, copy requests, and retrievals.
Processing Platform offers out-of-the-box interfaces for connecting to external systems: D8 Corporation’s proprietary ISO8583 Host-to-Host interface or REST API for direct, web-based communication.
Processing Platform seamlessly integrates with other Gate2Bank components, such as StrongHold Risk Management for real-time fraud prevention, Tokenization Platform for issuing and managing HCE tokens, Ecommerce Platform for e-commerce acquiring services, and EMV ACS for issuer-side 3D Secure authentication.
We understand the investment constraints of small to mid-sized financial institutions – a large CAPEX expenditure on a system license might not be viable for you at this point. No worries then – just start with SaaS installation and as your business grows, you can always switch to an in-house license later. System migration from SaaS to in-house is seamless, thanks to configuration management features that allow you to migrate system configurations from one installation to another with only a few clicks.
We’d be happy to provide you with more information and organize a demo session for you. Just drop us a line below with a quick description of your business case and let’s chat!
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