3C Enterprise Wireless Pty. Ltd. (3C Wireless) introduced its 3C Secure Network (3C SN) financial technology solution to the Philippines at a press lunch held in Makati, October 5.
The 3C SN is a scalable machine-to-machine (M2M) solution that offers a wireless connection between bank branches and automated teller machines (ATMs), promising speed, reliability, accessibility and network security.
With a wireless connection as opposed to traditional leased line ATM connections, 3C Wireless looks at the application of the technology to more remote parts of the country where cellular network infrastructure is more reliable than its wired counterpart.
“Wherever there is wireless (connection), you can have banking. That’s a key,” said Dr. Ted Marr, Executive Vice President for 3C Wireless.
The ATM connects privately to the bank’s network via a built-in modem which communicates through special corporate connections that are specific to each bank system and inaccessible to the public.
The modem uses a dual telecommunications provider fail-over system with a primary network connection based on signal strength and a backup network should the primary connection fail, allowing ATMs to be online virtually all the time.
Working with omni-channel solutions provider NCR Corporation, the 3C SN is advantageous over traditional leased line systems in terms of security due to its private connection independent of the signal that the public uses for mobile communication, and an industry-standard 128-bit IPsec (internet protocol security) encryption which is near-impossible to crack.
“Security’s very important obviously because we’re dealing with money, and we want to make those transactions as secure as possible so we work with people like NCR, the ATM manufacturers to better secure those transactions as they go over the networks,” said 3C Wireless Chief Technology Officer Robert Huddlestone.
3C Wireless will also provide real-time monitoring of the ATMs as well as full-time vendor support for the networks in case of any issue.
On average, traditional leased line ATMs have a 94 to 96 percent up time translating to 800 to 900 minutes of downtime a year. 3C Wireless promises a 99.6 percent up time, giving ATMs considerably less time offline.
3C Wireless is currently in talks with four banks and reaching out to seven more, conducting location feasibility tests in areas where wired ATM operations are problematic including places in Mindanao, Visayas, and Southern Luzon.
According to the 3C Wireless execs, the network test results in such areas have been generally positive. Setting up the infrastructure for the wireless system will take one to one and a half months while the consequent rollout of the machines will be instantaneous.