LAS VEGAS, Dec. 3, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today announced at the Bank Administration Institutes’ Retail Delivery 98 conference it will license the source code for its Microsoft® Internet Finance Server Toolkit (MIFST) version 1.01 to financial services industry software companies worldwide.
The code will be made available to independent software vendors (ISVs) developing applications that are compliant with the Microsoft Windows® Distributed interNet Applications for Financial Services (Windows DNAfs) framework.
A number of ISVs, including ALLTEL Corp., ACI, Corillian Corp., Edify Corp., HomeCom Communications, Intelidata, M & I Data Services, NCR Corp., nFront, Open Solutions Inc., Rubin & Associates, STEP Technology Inc. and Wang Global indicated they will include MIFST code with their applications.
“MIFST was designed to jump-start online banking by allowing banks to build one Internet platform to support consumers using browsers and other OFX clients such as Microsoft Money and Intuit Inc.’s Quicken home banking packages,”
said Lewis Levin, vice president of the desktop applications division at Microsoft.
“With the growing adoption of Windows DNAfs by financial institutions, it makes perfect sense for us not to distribute MIFST but to enable our software developers to customize and integrate MIFST offerings into their applications.”
MIFST, formerly code-named
“Marble,”
was announced in March 1997 and is based on the Open Financial Exchange (OFX) specification. It is a set of software tools designed to provide the building blocks software vendors need to rapidly build applications for Internet banking, such as a transactional Web site for paying bills or transferring funds. Currently, MIFST has been implemented at more than 100 financial institutions worldwide. Windows DNAfs is a framework designed to allow different back-end computer systems at banks, brokerages and insurance companies to exchange information.
“We are seeing strong customer demand for rapid innovation on the MIFST platform,”
said Charles Stevens, vice president of the application developers customer unit at Microsoft.
“But we believe our industry associates are the real experts and will be able to satisfy that demand by extending the functionality of the MIFST code much faster and much better than we could do alone.”
Beginning Dec. 1, any licensed independent software vendors will take over future enhancements to the MIFST code base, offering an increased level of innovation and products direct to financial institutions. The MIFST source code will be licensed to any software company that meets certain requirements, including a commitment to support OFX and develop online banking solutions that are able to communicate with other applications using the Windows DNAfs framework. Microsoft will continue to offer technical support to financial institutions that previously acquired MIFST.
“This announcement focuses on the U.S. market, but we will be announcing the inclusion of a significant number of ISVs throughout the world after the first of the year,”
Levin said.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
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Addendum
ISV Quote Sheet
“With MIFST 1.01, Microsoft provided a robust framework with which we’ve been able to produce high-performance home banking solutions. The extensible architecture of MIFST has allowed us to extend OFX to meet particular needs of specific customers, and now access to the source code gives us more options for customization.”
-Michael Cottam
Online Financial Services Group
STEP Technology Inc.
”
Corillian was an early investor in OFX and MIFST because we saw that both would enable us to get robust products to market faster. DNAfs takes on a much larger challenge that includes the current functionality in OFX but also considers all of the other distribution channels of the bank. As an initial DNAfs participant, Corillian is in an ideal position to build on the MSFT technologies to extend the DNAfs framework. The release of MISFT source code to ISVs allows us to focus on that larger challenge with the power to create low-level interoperability across a diverse mix of bank delivery channel
applications.
“
-Ted Spooner
Chairman and CEO
Corillian Corp.
“HomeCom has packaged innovative banking and insurance products and marketing programs that enable banks to attract new customers and increase share of wallet of existing customers. HomeCom uses advanced Microsoft technology to deliver these new financial services through existing branches and relationship officers, where 90 percent of customers access the bank today. Taking advantage of existing customers and facilities to generate revenue results in a faster ROI than investment in technology to reduce costs or to create electronic channels. When customers are ready for Internet banking, the same Microsoft open platform used by the bank officers to sell the insurance products supports home banking, bill payment and brokerage either from the branch, a kiosk or the home. The Microsoft platform protects investment in existing systems and financial products through the financial industry standard interface, OFX.”
-
Harvey Sax
President and CEO
HomeCom Communications
“As a first-in member of the Microsoft Online Banking Technology Provider Program, Wang Global continues its leadership role in banking solutions. This initiative complements our implementation of Globalfsf – a financial solutions framework employing Microsoft’s network architecture (DNAfs) – through which Wang Global helps the banking industry provide cost-effective and quality services to its customers. The new Online Banking Technology Provider Program will further solidify the strategic relationship between Microsoft and Wang Global.”
-David Goulden
senior vice president,
Wang Global
