Intermediate Certified Entity

An Intermediate certified entity is one that is itself certified by one of the empaneled certifiers and is further qualified to offer a pre-negotiated certification service through the empanelled certifiers to FIPs, FIUs or AAs. Technology Service Providers (TSP) may also choose to become intermediate certified entities. This makes it easier for FIP, FIU or AA to get certified after a thorough assessment of conformance to ReBIT standards.

Advantges of using an Intermediate Certified Entity

  • They have a greater awareness of the choice of empaneled certifiers available
  • They can help with negotiations for scope and cost of certification
  • Technical queries raised by certifier are resolved easily

Services Offered by TSP as Intermediate Certified Entities

A TSP can become an intermediate certified entity after procuring an “intermediate certified entity” certification by any of the empaneled certifiers. Once certified, the TSP may offer the following services and benefits,

  • Pre-validated implementation

    As an intermediate certified entity, the TSPs implementation of the AA Technical Standards is pre-validated by one of the empaneled certifiers. It can therefore easily check implementation at its end for other entities drastically reducing the certification process time for them.

  • Pre-negotiated certification charges

    The TSP is qualified by the empaneled certifier to offer a pre-negotiated certification service to end entities with no separate negotiation required between participants and the empaneled certifiers directly. * Actual mechanics of invoicing and collection are left to the TSP and the empaneled certifier to determine.

  • Outsourced certification operations**

    TSPs act as the point-of-contact on behalf of FIU, FIP or AA, for all certification operations. * Actual mechanics of invoicing and collection are left to the TSP and the empaneled certifier to determine. ** Actual mechanics of how the end-certified entity gets the certificate are left to the TSP and the empaneled certifier to determine

FAQs

As an intermediate certified entity, do I necessarily have to also offer a pre-negotiated certification rate to end-entities, i.e. FIUs, FIPs, AAs?

Yes. The primary goal of enabling TSPs to be deemed intermediate certified entities is for them to reduce the friction for end-entities in getting certified. Friction arises on two counts – commercial and operations.

Intermediate certified entities are expected to enable a reduction in friction on both counts.

As a TSP, I offer a mix of on-prem and hosted (cloud) deployment models for my implementation of technical standards. How does this affect my role as an intermediate certified entity?

It does not as long as TSPs deploy a certified solution for on-prem and hosted (cloud) models. The standards do not distinguish between on-prem and hosted (cloud) deployment models. Neither does the certification framework.

It is up to the empaneled certifiers to define workflows that support intermediate certified entities in effectively offering operations support for getting end-entities (FIUs, FIPs, AAs) certified.

As a TSP, can I be an intermediate certified entity, with more than one empaneled certifiers?

Yes, this is left to the TSP’s choice. However, the certificate awarded by one empaneled certifier cannot be deemed as valid by another certifier. The TSP has to be certified separately by each empaneled certifier it engages.

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