Level Four Software, a London-based provider of ATM test and development systems, has received a £2 million investment from UK venture capital group Quester.
Level Four's flagship ATM Channel Development Suite is a package of integrated modules that enable rapid deployment of new ATM functionality and end-to-end testing of cash machine networks.
The capital will be used to accelerate the company's development activities and to support its global expansion plans.
Nigel Walsh, chairman of Level Four Software, says open standards, such as IFX, are creating radical new technical and business models within the ATM industry, while the market opportunity for ATM and branch terminal software is rapidly evolving, fuelled in part by the introduction of high bandwidth communications.
"This strategic investment by Quester comes at an important stage in the development of this sector, as new Web-based technologies and distributed architectures look set to replace the legacy onboard applications provided by ATM manufacturers in the past," adds Walsh.
Commenting on the investment, Henry Sallitt, director at Quester who will join the Level Four board, says: "The next five years will be an exciting period of change in the ATM industry, with the market for ATM services at a pivotal point in its development. To date, ATM software has been proprietary, inflexible, time-consuming and expensive to deploy. With increasing pressure from the banking sector to support the move to open standards, there is now a clear market opening for a more modern approach to developing and deploying new ATM applications.
"We believe that the combination of Level Four's innovative technology and its highly experienced management team will enable the company to fill that space."