Table of Contents - APTAStandards.com

These standards and specifications were subjected to detailed analysis in order to assess
their level of applicability to UTFS WP4 efforts. The established criteria for the level of
applicability were developed based on the input from the APTA Financial Committee’s
Interface
Specification Functional Description and Booz Allen’s experience in
implementing regional fare payment systems.
The criteria included:
• Common Message Structure that is supported by all data exchange
• Message Types that are applicable to UTFS WP4 proposed messages
• Data Elements that are specific to the transit industry
• Message Sequences that support an organized flow of data
• Security Requirements to allow for the protection of sensitive transit data and the
fiscal integrity of the larger payments scheme implemented for all participant in a
region
• Timing and Routing that dictates the operational requirements of the system
• Usability of the standard or specification by APTA
The following sections include the detailed analysis for each of the standards
and
specifications listed in the Exhibit 4-1.
4.1 ISO/IEC 8583
4.1.1 Description of the Standard
ISO/IEC
8583 is designed as an interface standard enabling messages to be exchanged
between systems that employ different application specifications. This standard offers
application designers freedom from overall design
constraints because messages can be
converted
to the format of this interface for international interchange to take place.
This international standard uses a concept called bitmap, whereby each data element is
assigned a pos ition indicator in a control field (or bitma p). A “1” in the assigned
position indicates the presence of a data element in a specific message, and a “0” in the
assigned
position, indicates the absence of a data element. This will allow application
designers to choose variable length data elements and messages, and the flexibility to
utilize data element types that are best suited for a specific application.
The standard is designed to
accommodate real-time “request-response,” and batch and
file
transfer type information exchange. It can also be utilized for both peer-to-peer and
centralized settlement schemes due to its flexible design.
ISO/IEC 8583 specifies a well-defined message structure, and message format and
content.
It is widely used in the financial industry, particularly in the handling of all
credit and debit card transactions among financial institutions and merchants around
the world.
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