CONDUCTOR, the online financial supersite from Block Financial, announces partnership with DST Systems.KANSAS CITY Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850). , Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 1996--Block Financial Corp. today announced a new alliance with DST Systems DST Systems Inc. (NYSE: DST) is a software development firm that specializes in information processing and management, with the goal of improving efficiency, productivity, and customer service. Inc. that includes an interface to Financial Access Network(TM) (FAN), DST's electronic link that puts investors in touch with their mutual fund and account information. Block will use FAN on its website, CONDUCTOR conductor Any of various substances that allow the flow of electric current or thermal energy. A conductor is a poor insulator because it has a low resistance to such flow. (R) (http://www.conductor.com ) to further its position as the online "supersite" for all personal financial needs. FAN will enable Block Financial to sign on with mutual fund companies, and offer their products to new and existing CONDUCTOR users. Once mutual fund companies sign on to this service, customers will be able to access their mutual fund accounts through CONDUCTOR via the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the . They will be able to switch funds between accounts within the same fund family, set up a new account within the same fund family, download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer. a mutual fund prospectus for viewing or printing, and execute purchases or redemptions. Users will have 24-hour access to this and all CONDUCTOR services. "Everyone benefits from our alliance with DST Systems," said William P. Anderson, president, Block Financial Corp. "Not only will consumers have access to even more financial information, but mutual fund companies will be able to showcase their products and services to a very targeted audience -- consumers who want to do their banking and finances online." Mutual fund companies will benefit in several ways by signing with CONDUCTOR. CONDUCTOR will serve as a new point of distribution to mutual fund companies and will improve visibility. In addition, by exhibiting their products and services over the Internet, mutual fund companies can cut down on customer service expenses including mail-incurred costs. CONDUCTOR is a supermarket for 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. . Through agreements with community banks, brokerage houses, insurance companies, mutual fund firms, and credit card companies, CONDUCTOR will offer the largest variety of high quality financial services on the Internet. Block Financial Corp. already has an agreement with Jack Henry & Associates, providers of integrated computer systems for banks and financial institutions, to make CONDUCTOR available to its 1,240 bank customers. In addition, Block announced an agreement with Reuters last month to provide CONDUCTOR users with news updates, stock quotes, weather, and more. About the Companies Started in 1993, Block Financial Corp., an H&R Block Inc. subsidiary, develops and provides technology-driven financial services, such as credit card and online financial services and a middleware Software that functions as a conversion or translation layer. It is also a consolidator and integrator. Custom-programmed middleware solutions have been developed for decades to enable one application to communicate with another that either runs on a different platform or comes from a home banking solution. In addition, Block Financial Corp. publishes personal productivity software programs, including Kiplinger TaxCut, Kiplinger's Small Business Attorney and Kiplinger's Home Legal Advisor. Founded in 1955, H&R Block Inc. is a diversified company diversified company A company engaged in varied business operations not directly related to one another. A diversified company is less likely to suffer either a collapse or a spectacular gain in earnings compared with a firm concentrating its operations in a offering tax and financial services. H&R Block is the country's largest tax preparation firm, serving 17.4 million taxpayers in nearly 9,700 offices in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , Canada, Australia and 15 other countries and territories in 1996. In the United States, H&R Block Tax Services Inc. handled approximately one in every seven returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service this past tax season. Based in Kansas City, Mo., DST Systems Inc. designs and develops systems, software products, and services that allow companies in the mutual fund, banking, insurance, and health care industries to operate more efficiently and productively, and to deliver higher levels of customer service. In addition, DST (1) (DeSTination) Contrast with SRC, which is an abbreviation of "source." (2) (Digital Signal Trust Company, Salt Lake City, UT, www.digsigtrust.com) An organization that sets up and manages PKI systems for companies and industry groups. is the leading provider of recordkeeping services to the mutual fund industry, servicing more than 39 million shareholder accounts. CONTACT: Joanne Serling/Denise Walpole Wilson McHenry Company 212/527-0800 jserling@wmc.com dwalpole@wmc.com |
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