Bank of America, CheckFree Deliver on Strategic Alliance; New Electronic Billing and Payment Service Debuts in Selected Markets.Business Editors CHARLOTTE, N.C. and ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2000 Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BAC BAC abbr. blood alcohol concentration ), a market leader in the delivery of online financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. with nearly 3 million online banking customers, and CheckFree Corporation (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :CKFR CKFR Checkfree Corporation (stock abbreviation, AMEX) ), the leading provider of financial electronic commerce services and products, today announced that Bank of America has launched its new electronic billing Electronic billing is the electronic delivery and presentation of financial statements, bills, invoices, and related information sent by a company to its customers. Electronic billing is also referred to as the following:
This announcement marks the first stage of the implementation of the strategic alliance forged by the two companies in April 2000. The new service, which enables Bank of America customers to receive and pay their bills online through www.bankofamerica.com, is now available in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Kansas. The phased rollout will continue over the next several months, extending the service to additional Bank of America markets and customers across the country. "Our goal is to provide all Bank of America customers with access to a fully integrated electronic billing and payment solution that will make a traditionally tedious monthly chore as simple as a few clicks of the mouse," said Jeanine Brown, Interactive Banking executive, Bank of America. "This new service will help us build broader, deeper relationships with our customers by meeting more of their financial needs and providing a fast, easy and convenient way to pay virtually anyone online." According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Brown, electronic billing and payment enhances the bank's already robust Online Banking service. In addition to accessing their Bank of America accounts through the Internet, customers who subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; Online Banking with Bill Pay will be able to view electronic versions of bills from participating billers, schedule one-time or recurring payments for virtually any bill -- whether or not it has been delivered electronically -- and pay other individuals online rather than by writing a paper check. Bank of America teamed with CheckFree earlier this year to provide its customers with this enhanced service Enhanced service is service offered over commercial carrier transmission facilities used in interstate communications, that employs computer processing applications that act on the format, content, code, protocol, or similar aspects of the subscriber's transmitted information; because of increasing consumer demand for online solutions that bring added value Added value in financial analysis of shares is to be distinguished from value added. Used as a measure of shareholder value, calculated using the formula:
Brown views electronic billing and payment service as a key relationship-building tool for the bank, citing its "stickiness factor" and the tendency for bill-pay customers to do more business with the bank. Bank of America customers who sign up for electronic billing and payment service are more likely to stay with the bank than traditional checking account customers and use more of the bank's products and services. "We have an aggressive plan to deliver electronic billing and payment to all Bank of America customers nationwide, making the service more accessible and easier to use than ever," added Lynn Busing, CheckFree executive vice president. "At the same time, we're working with Bank of America to bring more of its corporate billers online, enhancing the service and allowing customers to receive more of their bills electronically through their trusted financial institution." Currently, 210 billers -- including leading telecommunications, utility, mortgage, home loan, credit card, insurance, cable and wireless companies -- are contracted to distribute their bills using CheckFree's electronic billing and payment service. Bank of America customers will be able to receive their Bank of America credit card bills electronically, in addition to bills from other companies such as AT&T, Sprint, Worldcom, Southwestern Bell
Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. , Verizon Wireless, Amoco, Texaco and Sears. Bank of America, which has existing relationships with more than 80% of the Global Fortune 500 and 80% of Fortune 1000 companies, will be offering the service to its commercial and corporate banking clients that want to offer electronic billing and payment as an extension of their banking relationship. The launch of Online Banking with Bill Pay is the latest in a long series of Internet and technology-centric initiatives undertaken by Bank of America, the online banking market leader. Bank of America has been offering PC-based banking to its customers since the early 1980s and became the first major bank in the United States to have a presence on the Internet in 1994. Since then, the company has made a number of enhancements to its Online Banking site and is in the process of building a financial services engine to accelerate B2B e-commerce (Business to Business Electronic-COMMERCE) Refers to one business selling to another business via the Web. See e-commerce. . Recently, Bank of America introduced its new Business Center featuring Banc of America Marketplace and rolled out wireless financial services for Private Bank clients. Additionally, the bank announced plans to introduce Web-enabled ATMs at more than 20 banking centers in Atlanta and Charlotte. About Bank of America Bank of America provides online banking and investing services to more consumers, small businesses and corporations than any other financial services company in the United States. Bank of America currently has more than 2.7 million online banking customers and is adding about 125,000 new subscribers each month. The company's Internet and e-commerce capabilities are part of an unparalleled nationwide delivery network that includes banking centers, ATMs and telephone call centers -- creating a better, faster, easier banking and investing experience for all the bank's customers and clients. The company's stock is listed on the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Pacific and London stock exchanges London Stock Exchange London marketplace for securities. It was formed in 1773 by a group of stockbrokers who had been doing business informally in local coffeehouses. , and certain shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tokyo Stock Exchange Main stock market of Japan, located in Tokyo. It opened in 1878 to provide a market for the trading of government bonds newly issued to former samurai. . Further information can be found at www.bankofamerica.com. About CheckFree CheckFree (www.checkfree.com) is the leading provider of financial electronic commerce services and products. Founded in 1981, CheckFree launched the first fully integrated electronic billing and payment solution in 1997. Today, CheckFree enables 4.1 million consumers to receive and pay bills electronically. The company has multi-year contracts with 210 of the nation's top billers to provide online billing and payment through nearly 250 consumer service providers (CSPs), including banks, brokerage firms, Internet portals and content sites and personal financial management (PFM) software. CheckFree's Software Services division provides solutions that are used to process more than two-thirds of the nation's six billion Automated Clearing House See ACH. payments, and reconciliation products and services to 400 banks and businesses. Also within the Software Services division is CheckFree i-Solutions, which enables billers to create electronic billing and payment applications that transform bills and statements into interactive conduits for customer relationship management, marketing and customer self service. CheckFree's Investment Services provides a broad range of investment management services to thousands of financial institutions nationwide. The division's clients manage more than 1,000,000 portfolios totaling more than $500 billion in assets. |
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