I'm not sure if the following news may have any effect on CKFR business. I'd appreciate if anybody comments on it.
REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 2 Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced the availability of the Microsoft(R) Internet Finance Server Toolkit (MIFST), formerly code-named "Marble," at the Bank Administration Institute (BAI) Retail Delivery Conference in New Orleans.
MIFST is a platform based on the Windows NT(R) Server operating system for delivering Web-based financial services compatible with the Open Financial Exchange (OFX) specification. Financial institutions that build their Web platforms using MIFST enable their customers to pay bills, check account balances, transfer funds and view banking and brokerage statement information online.
The announcement follows a successful three-month evaluation and testing period with more than 100 solution providers and financial institutions around the world, including CoreStates Bank N.A., PaineWebber Inc. and Wells Fargo.
"The MIFST users who participated in our beta program say the toolkit makes building an online financial services site much easier," said Lewis Levin, vice president of the desktop finance division at Microsoft. "Their tremendous response confirms the value of the cost-effective, industry-supported tools that Microsoft offers for online financial services."
Other financial institutions currently embracing the MIFST platform include Ameritrade/AccuTrade, Nationwide Building Society in the United Kingdom, and Bayerische Vereinsbank, the second-largest bank in Germany. Solution providers implementing the toolkit include ADP Financial Information Services, Andersen Consulting, Applied Communications Inc., Edify Corp., Ernst & Young LLP, First Data Corp., InteliData, M&I Data Services and Unisys Corp. |
