2021 was a remarkable year for KAL’s XFS4IoT SP-Dev workgroup in its mission to jumpstart the latest API standard for ATMs. The year began with the first ever workgroup meeting and ended with all of the frameworks needed to support a Cash-Out ATM. From card readers to guest speakers, this article will review the progress so far and help to set the scene for the road ahead.
What is the XFS4IoT SP-Dev Workgroup?
The XFS4IoT SP-Dev workgroup is dedicated to developing KAL’s open-source framework for creating ATM Service Providers (SPs). This framework is available via KAL’s public GitHub repository.
Established in March 2021, the workgroup was an instant success – attracting ATM manufacturers, software vendors and other industry colleagues from over 70 companies. A total of twelve workgroup conference calls took place last year, and members were equipped with comprehensive resources for rapid, high quality SP creation. The workgroup also supported the project goals by asking questions, providing feedback, reviewing code and creating XFS4IoT SPs for their own devices.
The key technological developments
During each workgroup meeting, KAL provided workgroup members with expert advice on how to implement the emerging frameworks.
In terms of milestones, the key XFS4IoT SP-Dev outcomes in 2021 were:
- A card reader framework for processing commands, sending command responses and events
- A cash dispenser framework supporting all dispenser commands
- A text terminal (TTU) framework supporting many commands (such as ‘Read’, ‘Write’, ‘ClearScreen’, ‘SetResolution’ and more)
- Key management and crypto support (including encryption, decryption and MAC algorithms)
- PinPad and keyboard support (with features such as data entry, secure key entry and more)
- Complete end-to-end security (supporting end-to-end device authentication)
The XFS4IoT SP-Dev Community
As a virtual community, the XFS4IoT SP-Dev workgroup is an innovative, collaborative team. During last year’s conference calls, the comments section remained lively and questions from members were met with keen interest. KAL shared interactive demo videos on a regular basis, and several guest speakers made appearances – ranging from Red Hat’s Daniel Schäfer to Serquo’s Álvaro Corcuera.
KAL’s Kader Baadoud, Vice Chairman of the CEN XFS Committee, has served as the main host.
Senior Software Architect Kit Patterson has also played a vital role in the workgroup sessions and XFS4IoT as a whole – providing in-depth insights and confident guidance. He recently commented:
‘The CEN XFS committee has done amazing work over the last few years to create the new XFS4IoT standard, which is going to create a huge shake up for the ATM industry worldwide. It’s been hugely satisfying to see what the SP-Dev workgroup has done with that specification over the last year, creating the first widely available framework for implementing XFS4IoT services, and making it free and open source so that anyone can start to create exciting new solutions for ATMs. I can’t wait to see what people will do with it.’
Kit Patterson - Senior Software Architect
So, what’s next for XFS4IoT SP-Dev?
With the recent submission of the official XFS4IoT specification, the ATM industry is set to evolve rapidly. The workgroup recognizes the growing need to maximize the next generation of software and hardware architectures by ushering in the IoT era.
According to KAL, the next steps for XFS4IoT SP-Dev include:
- Developing vendor and auxiliary features
- Using the existing framework to create SPs
- Running ATMs on XFS4IoT
As we prepare to reach new milestones in 2022, we’d like to thank our existing workgroup members for their valuable input so far. The XFS4IoT SP-Dev workgroup welcomes all ATM industry peers, as well as those with an interest in IoT. If you’d like to get involved, please