Products

Payment System Extensions

Component Architecture of Product PSX² – (2nd Generation of Card Processing Software)

In our partner relationship with PAYWORLD-IT we offer the product PSX². Each component of PSX² is presented as a hexagon which has no contact with any of the other hexagons. This means that the described functionality assigned to the hexagon is delivered autonomously and in full – without any direct dependency on any of the other components – at this point only. A hexagon represents a number of programs which have their own system of communicating with each other within the hexagon in order to deliver the service or function. This form of functional autonomy ensures that each of the functionalities is portable to different platforms and also guarantees that they are easily implemented in existing software systems. The precondition for this is that there must be a guaranteed supply of information to the hexagon and that the results from the hexagon are capable of being used by others. This form of external communication is provided by an API defined for each hexagon.

The hexagon Transaction Pricing Services TS² is a flexible pricing module intended to calculate a multitude of transaction-dependent prices and fees on the basis of
posted transactions and related additional information.
It is possible to define different prices as percentage – with or without upper limit – for card payments abroad (foreign currency abroad, foreign currency in the euro area, EURO in
Germany, EURO in the euro area, EURO abroad, etc.).
Likewise, different prices can be defined for cash withdrawals at ATMs and bank counters or even free withdrawals at own ATMs.
This system can also define a number of first ‘n’ transactions free of charge, pricing being only applied to ‘n + 1 ‘.
Besides, credits can be generated depending on transaction volumes and their origin.

The hexagon MasterCard and VISA Settlement SE² allows a configurable settlement of all monetary incoming and outgoing data between MasterCard and VISA,
the processor and affiliated institutes.
Settlement amounts are documented in reports for each insitute.
Those payable by the processor to MasterCard or VISA are shown on one hand (“Primary Settlement”). On the other hand, SE² also documents the distribution
of the settlement amounts between all the affiliated institutes of the processor (“Secondary Settlement”).
SE² also enables the billing / apportionment of settlement amounts on a daily, monthly or annual basis with the corresponding apportionment records in the different reports.
Data are displayed on the basis of transaction classes, so that goods and cash transactions – subdivided by presentments and representments – as well as the different fees per settlement
day are easily traceable by the processor and the institutes.
For institutes with the need for a monthly pre-financing of the daily transaction amounts, the totalised values are managed and reported with a possible interest payment.
SE² provides DR² with the transaction totals and fees per institute for a daily reconciliation.

The hexagon Non Transaction Pricing Services PR² allows a flexible calculation of prices, refunds and bonus points.
Thanks to extensive possibilities to define the desired target groups and various calculation options, PR² is definitively a unique pricing tool.
All the data needed for calculation are stored in PR² so that pricing becomes possible independently from the card management system.
With up to 56 cardholder features, a large number of events can be described.
For each event, the combination of up to 11 criteria allows to define many different prices (debit or credit) or bonus points.

With the hexagon Statement Services ST², posted transactions are prepared as bank statement / settlement report for the cardholders on settlement date.
The DIN A4 sized statement / report is prepared by LD² before dispatching.
There is a high degree of flexibility in the parameterization per institute for the data reporting in the segmented page layout.
Except for logo inserts, centralized and individual message imprints can deliver various information about card usage and related statistics, thus influencing the preparation of footers.
In addition to the paper version of an account statement, data are prepared electronically for further use in external systems such as bank statement printers or Internet
(online banking, Star Money) and provided in parallel in separate data files.
Paper statements are also processed separately for microfilming / archiving as AFP file or for your own conventional microfilming file.
In these cases, a return of statements is supported, should the cardholder not be reachable through these media. In turn, he will get a billable paper version of his statement.
In the event of a Miles & More connection of the card product, bonus points are synchronized with the MM² system.

With the hexagon Audit Log Services AL², new records, data changes and read accesses can be stored over any period of time.
This application enables a flexible and data-control oriented analysis of changes and/or data accesses via an interactive user interface.
In addition, the print-formatted data are available in reports.
As for online display or printout, the card number can be masked according to the PCI DSS security standard.

The hexagon Account Management AM² ensures the posting and settlement of monetary transactions.
All the monetary transactions (MasterCard, VISA, fees, manual postings, etc.) are processed and posted on the card account.
With the integration of the interest calculation module IN², the processing of transactions is based on value date.
For periodic settlement, own settlement deadlines are managed for each institute (product) or for each account for which a statement is
generated, the account being balanced by direct debit.

With the hexagon Authorization Interface AX², data are exchanged between the card management and the authorisation system.
The purpose of AX² is a real time transfer of data that are relevant for authorisation, be it for new records or changes in the card management.
In return, all the authorization requests can be received via AX² for further processing within PSX² and distributed to the appropriate entity.

The hexagon Invoice and Billing Services IB² offers a flexible and configurable billing of institutes and service providers for the services of a processor.
Using so-called data analysis programs, all the required values are automatically collected from the card management system.
Besides, additional data can be provided electronically from other external systems.
Services can be defined and billed as basic, additional or apportionment services.
The structure of the billing including subheadings and associated subtotals are freely configurable.
All the services can be managed interactively (online).
Another feature of IB² is the billing of insurance fees with a monthly calculation followed by an annual full settlement.

The hexagon Interest Calculation IN² ensures both the calculation of credit interest and interest in case of part payment option (“revolving credit”).
The main feature of IN² is the possibility to consider the value date, thus enabling transactions to be processed to a past date with appropriate interest adjustments.
In case of instalments, it is possible choose between the German Interest Method (30/360) and the European Interest Method (act./360).
In addition to the definition of grace days for partial payment, up to 10 scaled interest rates can be parameterized for credit interest.
Individual transaction types (e.g. deposits) can be considered from the date of payment (value date).
Interest rate parameters can be defined on institute, product or card account level.
With the use of IN², interest postings are established with the effective interest rate on account statements.

The hexagon Product Management defines system, area and institute-wide specifications for a product description.
With a standard and individual parameterization, card products are defined and made available to the different processing steps in the system.
PM² provides all the product relevant processings in the PSX² hexagons with parameters checked for plausibility.

The hexagon Transaction Server TX² meets MasterCard and VISA requirements to ensure a correct and traceable processing of
Clearing & Settlement files from and with the MasterCard and VISA network.
Additionally, it has an interface for recording monetary and card number-based transactions from external systems, so-called “on us” transactions
(e.g. external card management or external banking system).
With the import of authorization transactions, matchings are performed to confirm authorized limit reductions or to cancel them in case of non-execution.
Chargeback monitoring is ensured by a so-called “HOTPAN” control identifying transactions for a further dedicated processing.
“Incoming” data are prepared and stored in a database.
For further processing, uniformly structured transaction data are generated by MasterCard and VISA and then provided for posting.
So-called “Chargebacks” are processed by DX² in conformity with relevant regulations and transferred to MasterCard and VISA as “outgoing” data.
Besides, “SAFE” data are sent to MasterCard to ensure fraud supervision.

The hexagon Stock Data Interchange SI² ensures the reception, storage and management of non-monetary data relating to customers, accounts and cards.
Such data can be imported at any time from external systems / sources or captured online through an interactive interface (PCP).
SI² guarantees a correct and traceable processing of all data changes thanks to the ‘Daily Change’ functionality and with a reporting of every change on field level via AL².
Additionally, SI² provides other PSX components – also in ‘real time’ – with all the available information such as account / card references for further processing.

With the hexagon Daily Reconciliation DR² and on the basis of all the processed transactions (MasterCard & VISA incoming files, online capture and user input),
an automatic daily reconciliation is performed for each institute considering the current cardholder settlements.
Different reports document the correct one-day processing of all the transactions for the processor and every single institute (globally and per product group).
It is possible for all the reconciliation items to store the relevant bank accounts, thus enabling an automatic posting on the institute’s asset and cost/income accounts.

The hexagon Dispute Management Interface DX² provides the chargeback system with selected MasterCard and VISA transactions and the data fields
required for complaints processing; it also allows to complete them with relevant customer data (e.g. name, address, etc.).
In addition, automated “Representments” and “Hot PAN” transactions can be transferred every day to the chargeback system.
After data processing, DX² will get the results from the chargeback system and prepare them for the follow-up system – according to the defined result options – for
further processing:

a) Creation of a chargeback (outgoing via TX²)
b) Corrective postings in the card management
c) Direct credit to the cardholder giro account
d) Provision of data for settlement SE²

With the hexagon Embossing services EM² card embossing and PIN creation can be initiated in accordance with MasterCard and VISA specifications.
The required data are prepared by EM² and then transferred in the form of electronic embossing orders to the respective card manufacturer depending on what is needed
(new card, replecement card, renewal, PIN creation, etc.).
With EM² all types of credit cards including European MasterCard and VISA chips (private, commercial, virtual, picture cards, etc.) can be created.
The parameterization of EM² enables an individual design of the card layout on the product level of an institute.
A “Reject handling” allows post-processing of rejected embossing orders by the card manufacturer and documents the status of each card (either online or in a report).

The hexagon Foreign Trade and Payments FP² allows to generate a report documenting foreign transactions made by residents and domestic transactions
made by non-residents in accordance with the German Foreign Trande and Payments Regulation (AWV).
This report (special form Z 4) gives the sum of all the transactions relating to the referene group per country depending on the minimum amounts to be reported.
Thereby it is possible to exclude transactions with defined Merchand Category Code or e-commerce transactions.
The report can be created according to various criteria such as institute associations, clients, etc.

The hexagon Cardholder Security CS² enables a real-time control (24/7) over cardholder data transferred from the Arcot company to CS² when
logging in to MasterCard Secure Code or Verified by VISA in case of online shopping.
Different test requirements can be parameterized both for private and commercial cards.
This service can be activated on product level for each institute.
As a result, relevant cardholder data (new inputs and changes) are transferred on a daily basis from the card management SI² to CS² and stored there
with the usage inquiries.

With the hexagon Fund Transfer Services FT², fund transfer files are created for further processing in the domestic or European clearing system
on the basis of payment records transmitted by other systems in the defined input format.
For each institute and product it is possible to parameterize if the fund transfer file has to be created in conformity with the data transmission procedure
(DTA = domectic system) or ISO20022 (SEPA = European system).
Both options support the bank/bank and the customer/bank format. According to the chosen procedure, the account number/bank code number
or the IBAN/BIC are used as bank details.

The hexagon Insurance and Adjustment IA² ensures the collection and management of services relating to cardholder insurances.
They are managed on a monthly and yearly basis according to the provided services.
The commercial processor acts as a contributor to the insurance companies and then charges the insurance services to the different institutes.
Data are transferred via an interface to the insurance companies or their billing centres.
Depending on the contracts, insurance fees are settled on a monthly basis or as an annual prepayment with an adjustment by the end of the year
(based on the number of cards).

The hexagon Letter Distribution LD² enables DIN A4-sized printouts (e.g. cardholder statements, reports).
The IBM 3800 preparation for a laser printout with AFP fade-ins is based on a segmented print line structure.
Free parameterization allows a flyer compartment control and print line processing with automatic enveloping.
An automatic weighing device determines the postage cost before sending this information to the franking device.
Packing and franking lists support the mailing service with reports showing postage quantities and special manual handlings.

The hexagon Monetary Business Cases MG² provides external systems (e.g. SAP) with all the generated and processed monetary business cases from the card
management system, primarily for a parallel traceability in other posting systems.
A monetary business case is a transaction posted in the card management or for which a posting was made (transactions, fees, storage media exchange, etc.).
Monetary business cases are provided 7 days a week and can be compressed according to graded compression possibilities in order to reduce the data volume
without affecting posted values.

The hexagon Miles & More MM² allows to manage customer data for those who participate in the Miles & More (MM) system.
Bonus miles are determined on the basis of relevant sales.
Besides, the data of the concerned card accounts are prepared, including the transmission of bonus miles to MM and the processing of rejections.
Additionally, the data of the participation data are considered and billed by the Invoice and Billing Services (IB²).
Bonus miles are shown separately on the credit card statement (ST²) and synchronized with the Miles & More system on settlement day.

With the hexagon Multiple Data Services Interface MS², basic data, transaction data (mainly posted transactions, MasterCard and VISA transactions, interchange fees,
user input, system generated charges, etc.) and parameters from the card management are prepared and provided to external systems.
Data are supplied by MS² to the SIS+ data warehouse and to institutes processing and displaying their own data.
The data output frequency can be defined in a flexible way and in different formats (e.g. CSV, XML) for each institute.

The hexagon Other Value Added Interface OI² manages contract data for additional services linked to the card and for which data are exchanged
between the processor and external service providers (e.g. card protection service, music publisher).
Part of OI² services is the daily identification and transmission of new or changed cards, account and / or customer data to external
service providers or data owners.
In OI², the (card) product of an institute is linked to the service package of an external company.
This gives all the cardholders of this product the opportunity to use this service package.
For this purpose, all the card accounts belonging to a product are transmitted once to the external service provider on the basis of contractual relationships.
Then, only notifications of new inputs, changes or deletions of cardholder data will be reported.

The hexagon Report Generator RG² ensures a central print preparation and distribution of all the reports in the PSX² system.
These reports are provided as print files for IBM 3800 laser printers, files for electronic archiving, microfilming or even online display.
RG² can prepare printouts for 2 input versions. ASA print files are prepared according to revision requirements on one hand and revision compliant reports are established
from data files on the other.
The print preparation supports both landscape and portrait format.
The z / OS print format with 80/132 characters per line and the ASA print line control are used.
Printouts are generated in form of batches for each institute.
Such a batch contains a revision compliant cover sheet indicating which reports may be / are included.
Print batches are produced for institutes, call centers and a centralized processor (system needs).

Statistic and Information-System SIS+
According to the growing credit card market the need for up-to-date numbers and analysis is becoming more and more important for the banking industry.
Needed data is often not available or insufficient and limited to a simple list of card numbers and transaction volumes.
The Statistic and Information System SIS+ provides comprehensive credit card related data to its users.
In addition to regular customer, account and card data, SIS+ also provides analysis of transactions, authorizations, statements, embossing
and additional processing data.
The huge data pool allows an active portfolio management without knowledge of programming.
Independent of your card management system you are able to analyse your portfolio on different levels (i.e. bank  or product level)
but also to view all data of a single credit card. To access the data the user-friendly Payment Card Portal is used in browser.
Amongst others SIS+ includes the following functions:
– offers different degrees of detail depending on the situation (Standard Analysis, Individual Analysis, Single Cardholder…)
– supports marketing issues (Profit Contribution, Revenue and Expenses…)
– makes daily business easier (Monthly/quarterly MasterCard and VISA reporting, Payment and Securities Statistics (for German Central Bank))
– is fast and easy to use
– is available at every workstation
– is a certified software acc. generally accepted accounting principles

Complement Modul Basic Modul Supplement Modul Service Tools ALL

A hexagon’s function has a results-based dependency on other functions. The function is triggered by time-controlled or event-triggered activities.Within each hexagon the data for the described function is managed wholly exclusively in that hexagon. Access to information from other hexagons is managed exclusively by means of API. Each hexagon is responsible for the management of the data for its functionality.None of the programs within a hexagon have direct access to the data of another hexagon.

Technical requirements for PSX²
Data management is by means of DB2
The program languages are COBOL and C
Interactive dialogs are implemented by IBM and Websphere
Data communication is by means of XML structures, MQ, tables or seq. files
The system is implemented in z/OS, LINUX, AIX and UNIX