RCG Holdings, an RFID products and services supplier focused on the Asia Pacific markets, has launched three new RFID-based systems at two of China’s largest banks, to help those financial institutions improve security and enhance customer service. The rollouts are among the first of their kind in the financial services sector, according to RCG, and are part of the company’s plan to introduce radio frequency identification to banks across the region.
The Hong Kong-based firm is currently rolling out an asset-tracking system to track and trace valuable IT equipment at China Construction Bank‘s (CCB) data center, and is also delivering cashbox tracking and VIP management systems to the Bank of China. Both banks declined to provide comments for this story. Sri Hartati Kurniawan, RCG’s chief technology officer, says the RFID provider is already in talks with other financial sector businesses.
“Once other financial services companies see that their competition is using advanced technology, they will realize the benefits that it can bring,” Kurniawan says. “For RCG, developing first-of-their-kind systems has had its challenges, but future rollouts will be easier, and we expect to introduce RFID at other financial institutions.”
CCB is currently testing RCG’s Asset and Data Security Management system at the bank’s data center—the first such rollout in the financial services sector, RCG claims—and expects the system to be fully operational within three months. Passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tags are attached to IT assets. These tags operate at 900 to 930 MHz, comply with the EPC Class 1 Gen 2 standard and are specialized for use in the presence of metal, which can interfere with RF signals. The system combines location monitoring and tracking, data security, and access control to improve the security of the bank’s IT assets within its premises.
“CCB is a large bank, and its data center includes thousands of valuable assets, with the number of assets increasing rapidly,” Kurniawan explains. “It can be difficult to manage so many assets and know who is moving equipment where. The bar-code system is simply not good enough for tracking such goods, as it is unable to monitor them in real time.”
Knowing where IT assets are at all times can improve efficiency, Kurniawan says, and reduce costs since time is not wasted tracking down valuable assets when they are required. It also prevents the unnecessary purchasing of replacements when equipment is just misplaced.“Monitoring assets in real time also provides an added level of security,” Kurniawan says, “and can prevent theft, as the company knows exactly who is accessing the server room at all times, and where equipment is being moved to.”
RCG developed its own UHF RFID reader and antenna, which are mounted into the server rack and other locations in order to monitor the servers and other IT equipment. The firm has also worked with Hewlett Packard (HP) to develop application management software for data storage and analysis.
With the RFID tag attached to IT assets, mapping information detailing the assets’ location is stored in the database. The application software periodically triggers the interrogator to read the RFID tag, and the collected data is then transmitted to the application software, where the movement of assets can be analyzed, before being stored in the database.
“We are currently testing the system in a live environment, operating 24 hours, seven days a week,” Kurniawan states. “We are ensuring asset information can be matched with the tags, and alerts triggered when items are moved.”
The Bank of China, meanwhile, has introduced RCG’s Cashbox Management system to improve security when transporting cashboxes to its branches. The bank also uses the company’s VIP Management System to improve customer service for its most valued clients.
The Cashbox Management System employs RFID to track and trace individual cashboxes throughout a bank, as well as in transit between branches. “Cashboxes often have significant amounts of cash inside, and require a security guard to accompany them when in transit,” Kurniawan says. “Using RFID, guards can be alerted when a cashbox has arrived at the bank, and the Bank of China can know the exact movements of the cashbox between locations for added security.”Attached to the cashboxes are active 433.96 MHz RFID tags specialized for use near metal. The tags utilize a proprietary air-interface protocol to communicate with RFID interrogators connected to pairs of unidirectional antennas installed at the entrance to the bank, in order to detect the arrival and departure of each cashbox. Omnidirectional antennas have also been installed throughout the bank, to trace the cashboxes’ movements.
Each tag periodically emits a signal encoded with a unique ID number, which is processed by RCG’s tailor-made application software. The cashbox’s location is constantly updated and stored in the application’s database, and the software includes analysis tools that can also be used to determine the movement path.
With the VIP Management Solution, highly valued bank patrons are issued a badge containing an RFID chip encoded with an ID number linked to information regarding those clients.
“Retail banking is becoming more competitive,” Kurniawan says, “and many are aiming to differentiate themselves from competitors by providing better customer service.”
“RFID allows the Bank of China to identify VIP customers as soon as they enter the bank,” Kurniawan says, “and alert staff, who can quickly retrieve data on the client, such as what type of service they typically use. The bank can offer more personalized service, and this will be appreciated by its VIP customers.”
The VIP badge contains the same 433.96 MHz active tag used for the Cashbox Management System. The active readers and unidirectional antennas used for the Cashbox Management System can detect VIP customers as they arrive at the bank. Once a VIP customer passes through the entrance, information about that individual—including his or her name, history and recent transactions—is obtained from the tailor-made application software. The information is gathered from the local database and transmitted to a customer relationship manager, who can then personally greet that client.