World Wide Payment Harmonization Project

NEWS:

On Friday, November 7, 2003 Gartner hosted a Financial Services International Standards Harmonization Meeting at their headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.  OAGi was represented there in person as well as by teleconference.

This was a Gartner moderated meeting with a very select group of banks, technology vendors and representatives from the standards organizations that marked two important global events for the financial services industry.  These events are:

1.       The joining together of the world’s leading banks to form the International Standards Team (IST) Harmonization Group in the effort to drive a single Core Payment XML “Kernel” that can be used globally by any corporation regardless of size and sector and by any servicing bank in any location.

2.       The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IFX, OAGi, SWIFT, and TWIST to cooperate and coordinate message standards content and use of a core payment kernel XML transaction.

The objective of this project is to drive a single “Core Payment XML Kernel” that can be used globally by any corporate, irrespective of size and sector and by any servicing bank regardless of location.

The approach in used is:

1.       To identify and resolve content differences between the messages so a single set of content can be used;

2.       Recommend a common core payment that can be accepted into each of the standards bodies for use;

3.       Establish a method of interoperability that allows the Core Payment XML Kernel to have extended or related messages packaged with it.

Bank Participants from Asia, Europe, and the Americas include:

• ABN

• Bank of America

• Citigroup

• DeutscheBank

• HSBC

• JPMorgan Chase

• Nordea

• Standard Chartered

• Wells Fargo

We are very pleased to be a part of this group and this is a sign OAGi's continuing commitment to harmonization of standards at the global level.