Scrooge Cards

Multi-issuer bank processing center Scrooge Cards

In June 1997 the National Bank of Ukraine undertook solution of all issues concerning creation of the National System of Mass Electronic Payments (NSMEP) according to Resolution of the Board of Directors. This decision was supported and approved by commercial banks.

Introduction of NSMEP enables people to pay for goods and services in cashless form and also to save and accumulate funds in banks on card accounts. Profit from cards and spare money on cards gives not only an inflow of "hard" money but also additional income from interest on balances of account.

The National System of Mass Electronic Payments (NSMEP) is a card payment system based on plastic cards with built-in microprocessor. This system allows owners of plastic cards to make cashless payments for goods and services. Using of payment cards with built-in microprocessor considerably increases security of payments, including payments through the Internet.

The system includes a range of participants that perform their functional roles:

• Settlement bank is the National Bank of Ukraine. Purpose of settlement bank is performance of settlements among banks-participants of the system.
• Main processing center (MPC). Purpose of MPC is management of system: routing of information flows among banks-participants, keeping records of interbank transactions, distribution of orders, distribution of restricted card list, accounting for terminal equipment and payment cards, calculation of net positions of banks-participants, delivery of calculated net positions to settlement bank.
• Key system control center. Functions of this center include generation and management of key information and distribution of it in the system.
• Center for initialization and system personification. Purposes of this center include initial preparation of company cards and payment cards to be used in the system.
• Regional processing center (RPC). RPC performs same functions as MPC but only for one region and also delivers information to MPC.
• Commercial processing center. This center provides services to banks that are willing to participate in NSMEP system but do not want to buy necessary hardware and software complex (bank processing center).
• Bank. Bank may use services of commercial processing center or have its own hardware and software complex (bank processing center) to work in the system.

Functionality of Bank Processing Center Scrooge Cards

Software complex Bank Processing Center Scrooge Cards (BPC) is a multi-issuer processing center designed for using both in banks and commercial processing centers. That is its distinction from similar software complexes of other vendors.

This is a multi-issuer complex able to provide services to 128 participants. It has the following features:

• Processing of transactions with breakdown by connected banks;
• Issue of payment cards with breakdown by issuers;
• Generation of reports about processed transactions separately for each connected bank;
• Receipt of information from banks: information about terminal equipment, payment cards, amounts of commission, change of authorization limits for cards.
• The complex allows to distribute one authorization limit among several cards.
• The complex supports multicurrency payment cards;
• Performs calculation of net positions for each connected bank for performance of further settlements;
• Performs delivery of net positions to main processing center;
• Manages restricted card lists of participants;
• Processes orders from MPC for each connected bank;
• Forms and delivers to MPC orders for each bank.

From one hand multi-issuer complex allows non-bank organizations to provide processing services to banks, from the other hand it reduces bank's expenses for work in NSMEP. However the system may work in one-issuer mode if bank wants to use it for itself.

The complex supports the following types of operations:

• Transfer of funds from account/in cash to card for settlements in off-line mode, i.e. without authorization at bank.
• Payment/withdrawal of cash from account.
• Payment/withdrawal of cash from card.
• Preferential payment for all kinds of social projects.
• Funds transfer. Using this type of operation card owner may transfer funds to any bank of Ukraine.
• Transaction of any format. Using this type of transaction bank may implement any project, for example, loyalty program for its clients. This type is an advantage of the complex because it enables each connected bank to develop own products without modification of software. Business logic of such products is implemented by bank.

It is also planned to develop operation of provision of account statement.

The system is able to work with all types of terminal equipment: ATM, POS terminals, PC terminals, Internet terminals.

The complex allows for flexible setting of service fees. For example, fees for such operations as payment/withdrawal of cash, preferential payment, transfer in cash may be set separately for each terminal. Fees for transfer from account may be set individually for each card. Also the system supports groups of banks that allows banks to organize groups with special conditions of work.

Architecture of BPC Scrooge Cards

Scrooge Cards solution consists of two subsystems:

• Processing
• Bank module

Processing is a hardware and software complex that processes transactions, manages terminal equipment, performs information exchange with MPC/RPC, information exchange with connected banks.

Bank module is a software complex for information exchange with processing. Using this complex bank performs management of its resources: terminal equipment and card through generation of orders to processing. Also it gets from it results of transaction processing on the basis of which financial module of bank (ODB, MSO and etc.) posts transactions. Also it performs information exchange with financial module of bank (ODB, MSO and etc.) Now the system supports information exchange between "bank module" and ODB of the following vendors: Lime Systems, CS, ProFIX. Interface of information exchange with processing is also supported by "Module of Saving Operations of "Unity BARS.

Information exchange between Scrooge Cards processing and terminal equipment, MPC, RPC is performed in on-line mode on the basis of communications protocols of the NSMEP. Hardware security modules are used for protection of information flows.

Information exchange between processing and bank module is performed in the form of file exchange. This protocol is based on XML format. Protection of information flows between processing and bank is based on protection mechanisms of the NBU and meets all requirements of the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine No.185 of 25.05.2005.

The architecture of processing hardware and software complex is given below. This architecture meets all requirements of the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine No.185 of 25.05.2005.

Software product «Scrooge Cards» passed certification tests and was awarded with NBU certificate No. 09/51 of 22.10.2009 г. issued by the Council of payment institution of NSMEP.