In 1974, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved the scope of activity for the X9 Standards Committee on Banking, as "Standardization for Facilitating Banking Operations." Today, the Accredited Standards Committee X9 (ASC X9, Inc.) operates 5 technical subcommittees and 20-30 technical working groups that develop financial industry standards and guidelines. ASC X9 standards are widely used and cited or required by the Federal government for use in financial procedures and transactions. In addition, X9 standards are the basis for many international standards used in facilitating global commerce.