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Bacs Payments Technology

The Bacstel-IP programme brought about the development of the following key technology around Bacs submissions:

• Smart Cards
  

  Smart Cards enable Bacstel-IP users to authenticate their connection to Bacs before sending their payments data. A Smart Card is issued to a named individual who is responsible for its use and security.

• Hardware Security Modules
  A Hardware Security Module (HSM) stores the same security data as a Smart Card but is accessible only to the software and does not require a person to manually authenticate it - although the software can be configured to enforce manual authorisation at any stage if required. Since HSMs do not require a real-time PIN entry, the onus of security is passed to the software and HSM device, rather than individual users.  When processing frequent or large volumes of Bacs files, the automation of authorisation saves a considerable amount of time, is not reliant on resource availability and removes the burden associated with remembering PIN numbers or losing smart cards.
• Networks
  For Bacstel-IP and Secure-IP submissions, you can connect to Bacs via one of the following:
  
  • Dial-up internet
  • Broadband internet
  • Broadband Bacs Extranet
  The Bacs Extranet is a dedicated line and router for which Bacs will provide a service level agreement. If you submit via an internet connection there are no guarantees from Bacs.
• File formats
  With Bacstel-IP and Secure-IP, data sent to Bacs is submitted in a format called Standard-18, and this is wrapped up in XML. Most reports from Bacs are provided in two formats
  
  • XML for analysing and processing.
  • HTML for viewing on screen and printing

Albany ePAY delivers Bacs Payments Technology >>