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March 14, 2006

ABILITY TO DELIVER DYNAMIC ATM SERVICES TO CUSTOMERS IS KEY DRIVER FOR UPGRADING ATM NETWORK CONFIRMS SURVEY

ATM network owners’ survey supports case for distributed architecture in the ATM channel

London, 14 March 2006 – The ability to offer modern, dynamic services to customers at the ATM was cited as a key driver by ATM network owners undertaking migrations to the Windows platform, according to a survey* published today by Level Four Software, the leading provider of open standards-based ATM testing and development software.

“With the withdrawal of support for IBM’s OS/2 operating system and the emergence of open standards, the ATM industry has been forced to reassess the technology and business model for the humble ATM,” said Martin Macmillan, CEO of Level Four Software. “While network infrastructure migration is costly, the ability to improve customer experience and ultimately drive revenue through the ATM channel with dynamic new services is proving a compelling proposition for ATM network owners looking to capitalise on their investments.”

In the survey, which was undertaken worldwide over the last three months, banks and third party processors responded overwhelmingly in favour of improving the frequency and diversity of services they can offer to customers via the ATM. Owing to complexities in the existing, outdated ATM software model, only 31% of respondents currently change their ATM information on a monthly or more frequent basis. When asked to rank out of 10 their desire to provide more dynamic, customer-centric information at the ATM - such as advertising, improved customer services and personalised promotions - the mean average of respondents was over 7 (with 10 being the most desirable).

“Based on these results, we recognise that a rethink of the ATM ‘network landscape’ is required to enable ATM network operators to bring innovative ATM services to market faster,” said Macmillan. “The existing offerings in the marketplace are largely repackaged legacy software designs coupled with modern tools, resulting in a static and untargeted service offering.”

Recently introduced open standards now give banks the opportunity to seek alternative suppliers for their ATM software, whilst new distributed processing architectures provide a more flexible networked server model compared to the traditional single host system. The survey results demonstrate that a distributed architecture model and the benefits such an environment would bring to banks and third party processors, is in synch with these organisations’ aspirations for their ATM networks.

“We believe that when built in a holistic manner, a distributed architecture approach will enable ATM network owners to unlock the profit potential of the ATM channel. By increasing the opportunity for interaction between banks and their customers, this approach enables reduced costs while improving service levels and creating new revenue opportunities,” said Macmillan.

Other key findings were:

• 57% of respondents’ ATM networks will be converted to Windows as the operating system by June 2006;
• 71% of respondents use proprietary software from either an ATM manufacturer/independent software vendor whilst 29% of respondents use their own bespoke software;
• 79% of respondents believe open source software has a place to play in ATM software technology;
• 53% of respondents believe IFX will be the industry standard protocol for communications between ATM and host devices within five years.

* Level Four’s ATM survey was carried out from November 2005 to February 2006 and was distributed online and via email to an international pool of banks and third party processors, of which 36 responded. Geographically speaking, responding organisations spanned 15 countries, predominantly in Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East.

Note to editor:

To view the full ATM survey results, please visit: www.levelfour.com/surveyresults

In December 2005, Level Four published a white paper that discusses how a distributed ATM software architecture can help banks roll out new ATM services easily and inexpensively and exploit untapped marketing opportunities. The white paper entitled “Is a new business and technology model required for the ATM channel?” can be downloaded at: www.levelfour.com/newatmmodelwp

About Level Four

Level Four’s integrated BRIDGE suite of open ATM software products have been developed to address the needs of ATM deployers seeking to maximise their investment in the ATM channel. BRIDGE is targeted at banks and ATM deployers who are running, or seeking to run, a modern ATM network based on the industry-wide CEN/XFS open standard. As a true holistic offering, BRIDGE recognises the needs of ATM deployers in the areas of installation, testing and monitoring as well as run-time ATM software.

Since 1995, Level Four has built an impressive global customer base of banks and payments processors including, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB, National Bank of Dubai, Rabobank, LINK and Standard Bank of South Africa. Headquartered in Dunfermline, Scotland, Level Four also has offices in Dubai and Charlotte NC.


For further information contact:

Martin Macmillan
Level Four Software Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 1383 720 118

E-mail: martin@levelfour.com

Hotwire PR
Nicola Truman / Alexia Ward
+44 (0) 20 7608 2500
E-mail: levelfour@hotwirepr.com

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