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June 19, 2007

LEVEL FOUR PARTNERS WITH AURIGAE TO DELIVER INDEPENDENT ATM TESTING SOLUTIONS TO SPANISH BANKS

Most sophisticated ATM market in Europe to benefit from automated testing

London, 19th June 2007 – Level Four Software, a champion of open standards-based ATM software, today announced that the company has entered a partnership with Aurigae, a Spanish payments systems specialist, to deliver Level Four’s BRIDGE:test solution to banks and ATM processors in Spain. The partnership will provide Spain’s sophisticated ATM market with access to Level Four’s world-leading solution, BRIDGE:test, for the comprehensive and fully-automated testing of ATM software applications. Banks will benefit from being able to deliver enhanced functionality ATM applications to market more quickly and with reduced risk. As part of the partnership, Aurigae will provide sales assistance, implementation and consultancy services for Level Four products in Spain.

The importance of the branch as a delivery channel coupled with consumers’ slow uptake of internet banking means that the ATM is an important revenue-generating channel in Spain. The Spanish market is renowned for being at the forefront of ATM service delivery with the most advanced ATM capabilities of any nation in Europe - for example offering cinema tickets for purchase via ATM machines. Despite the market’s sophisticated services, Spanish banks and ATM deployers currently rely on manual testing of ATM software which is cost, resource and risk intensive. To maintain their competitive edge, Spanish banks are seeking methods to improve ATM functionality and cost savings while managing risk.

Level Four’s partnership with Aurigae is the first time Spanish banks and ATM deployers have been offered an independent automated testing solution. Capitalising on Level Four’s ATM software expertise and Aurigae’s strong knowledge of the local market and existing relationships with banks, the partnership will target banks that wish to offer better customer service and optimise the profitability of their ATM network. The partnership will allow banks in the country to upgrade their out-dated and less reliable manual testing methods currently in place. The migration to automated testing of ATM software will help financial institutions to reap cost savings through improved network efficiency and reduced downtime. The partnership will also enable banks to achieve quicker time to market for additional ATM services, allowing them to competitively differentiate their offering. Level Four’s solution will result in improved internal communications through advanced transaction reporting capabilities and provide an interface for both business and technical users to view a ‘virtual ATM’ on their desktop.

Galia Gómez García, Managing Director at Aurigae said: “Our partnership with Level Four will offer Spanish banks the opportunity to move from laborious manual testing to an automated solution for the first time, optimising the ATM and allowing banks to derive maximum benefits from the channel. The partnership will help us strengthen existing relationships and build new ones, providing additional software and consulting services to the country’s leading banks and ATM deployers. We look forward to supporting BRIDGE:test in Spain and offering financial institutions the ability to continue to be at the forefront of customer service and enhanced functionality at the ATM.”

Ian Kerr, CEO of Level Four, said: "Level Four is entering the Spanish market at a pivotal time in the evolution of the ATM to meet the changing requirements for developing, testing and deploying solutions in the Windows environment. A number of Spanish banks have already shown an interest in the benefits that a relationship between Level Four and Aurigae would provide and are keen to differentiate their services from their competitors. As a key European market, our partnership with Aurigae in Spain is further evidence of Level Four’s global expansion.”

About Aurigae
Aurigae has 15 years of experience as a specialist in payment systems, supported by its presence in the main financial entities in Spain, as well as in other companies from telecommunications and retail sectors. Its activity centres around three main areas: development of turn-key projects, consultancy services in system and application areas, and testing environments. Aurigae’s knowledge of the simulation of transactional banking applications fits perfectly with Level Four’s desire for a specialised partner to help develop its business in Spain.
For more information, please visit: www.aurigae.com

About Level Four
Level Four’s development and testing products have been built to address the needs of ATM deployers seeking to maximize their investment in the ATM channel.

BRIDGE:test 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.  BRIDGE:test provides an enterprise regression test platform to test CEN/XFS based applications in a controlled environment. Customers gain benefits of the breadth of testing and improved quality assurance as well as reduced time to market due to increased testing efficiencies.

ATM Developer is targeted at banks and ATM deployers who are running states & screens protocol controlled applications such as those based on NDC or 912. ATM Developer provide a graphical environment in which customers can maintain the configuration file from creation to validation.

Since 1995, Level Four has built an impressive global customer base of banks and payments processors including, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB, Bank of America, CIBC, VocaLink and Standard Bank of South Africa. Headquartered in Dunfermline, Scotland, Level Four has offices in Dubai and Charlotte, NC, USA. http://www.levelfour.com  

Level Four’s online ATM industry resource: www.atmindustryinfo.com 

For more information, please contact:
Nicola Koronka
Hotwire
+44 (0) 20 7608 4673
levelfour 'at' hotwirepr.com