Card briefs: Bank of N.H. Using More MAC Services

participation in the MAC network, signing on for additional network services. The network will now drive the bank's automated teller machines, maintain its card data base, authorize ATM transactions, and produce ATM cards. The MAC network also installed New Hampshire's first MAC ATMs on ISDN (integrated services digital network), an enhanced communications technology that can carry voice, data, and video over a common facility. There are a number of benefits to moving to the new technology. ISDN decreases ATM response time by allowing multiple ATMs to be processed simultaneously and by increasing the amount of data transmitted per second by 400%. ISDN also improves quality of service by replacing analog lines with digital lines, simplifies network processing by decreasing the total number of ports connected to the main switch, permits remote ATM diagnostic testing, and will ultimately provide alternate transaction routing during high-volume periods, line outages, or disasters. The MAC network is operated by Electronic Payment Services Inc., Wilmington, Del.