Hello and welcome to exampundit. Today we will be discussing about the Institute for Development & Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS) and its products such as, INFINET, SMFS (Appeared in IBPS CLERK).
IDRBT
The Institute for Development & Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) is a unique institution exclusively focused on Banking Technology. Established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1996, the Institution works at the intersection of Banking and Technology. It is located in Hyderabad, India. Director: Dr. A. S. Ramasastri
In the last decade, the institute has through a series of initiatives facilitated the absorption of technology in the banking sector. Some of the significant ones being the INFINET, issue of digital certificates, launch of the structured financial messaging system (SFMS) for free flow of financial messages and the implementation of the mail messaging system (MMS) for enabling secure and efficient communication within and among organisations.
On September 1, 2017, Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) announced developing of a model platform for blockchain technology.
The IDRBT has also set up the National Financial Switch (NFS) and Inter-Bank Payment Gateway.
Reserve Bank of India had constituted an External Expert Review Committee (EERC), headed by Dr. C. Rangarajan, Former Governor, Reserve Bank of India, for evaluating the activities of the Institute and re-defining its role and suggesting a roadmap for the future. The EERC, which submitted its report in July 2009, recommended that “to function as a primary institute of excellence in the area of research and development in banking technology, the Institute needs to shed its function of providing various services by hiving off its services.”
Accordingly, the Institute promoted a new Section 8 company named The Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS), headquartered in Mumbai. The Director, IDRBT, is the Chairman of The Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services.
IFTAS
IFTAS (Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services) operates and provides the following solutions for banks and financial institutions:
INFINET, the communications backbone of all the banks and financial institutions in India.
SFMS, India’s largest financial messaging platform, facilitating RTGS and NEFT transactions.
Bank On Cloud is based on IBCC (Indian Banking Community Cloud), the most trusted cloud platform for banks and financial institutions in India. Bank On Cloud solution includes IaaS, PaaS, DRaaS and SaaS (CBS, Mobile Banking, etc.) to banks.
INFINET
The Indian Financial Network (INFINET) is the communication backbone of the Indian Banking and Financial Sector. All banks in the public, private and cooperative sectors as well as premier financial institutions in the country are members of INFINET. INFINET is a Closed User Group Network for the exclusive use of its member banks and financial institutions. It is network platform for the National Payments System, which caters mainly to inter-bank applications like RTGS, Delivery Vs Payment, Government Transactions, Automatic Clearing House, etc.
SFMS
The critical need for a secure and common messaging system that would serve as the basic platform for intra-bank and inter-bank applications and would fulfil the requirements of domestic financial messaging gave rise to the Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS). SFMS was launched on December 14, 2001, at IDRBT. It is an Indian standard similar to SWIFT (Society for World-wide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) which is the international messaging system used for financial messaging globally.
SFMS is like other global messaging systems, but is feature-rich and has more utilities. The major advantage of SFMS is that it can be used practically for all secure communication purposes within and between banks.
Following application currently run on SFMS:
- Payment System Application: Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT)
- Trade related Messaging: Inland Letters of Credit (LC), Bank Guarantee (BG)
- Lien on Documents/Securities: E-FDR (Lien on Term Deposits)
- Other Messages Supported – Secured File Transfer and Free Format Messages
IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Awards for the Year 2016-17
- Best Bank Award for Use of Technology for Financial Inclusion Among Large Banks: State Bank of India
- Best Bank Award for Use of Technology for Financial Inclusion Among Mid-Size Banks: Vijaya Bank
- Best Bank Award for Use of Technology for Financial Inclusion Among Small Banks: Karnataka Bank Ltd.
- Best Bank Award for Digital Banking among Large Banks: Axis Bank Ltd.
- Best Bank Award for Digital Banking among Mid-Sized Banks: Vijaya Bank
- Best Bank Award for Electronic Payment Systems among Large Banks: State Bank of India
- Best Bank Award for Use of Technology for Fraud Prevention among Large Banks: HDFC Bank Ltd
- Best Bank Award for High Performance IT Ecosystem among Large Banks: Bank of India
- Best Bank Award for Cyber Security and Defense among Large Banks: HDFC Bank Ltd.
- Best Bank Award for Innovative Use of Technology among Large Banks: HDFC Bank Ltd.
