SLMsoft.com announces agreement with CheckFree
SLMsoft.com expands services for Internet banking clients
with CheckFree's electronic billing and payment solutions.
TSE Symbols: ESP.A and ESP.B
TORONTO, Feb. 18 /CNW/ - SLMsoft.com, Inc., a leading global provider of
electronic financial transaction solutions for the e-commerce market, today
announced an agreement with CheckFree Corporation (NASDAQ: CKFR) to offer
CheckFree's electronic billing and payment services to SLMsoft.com's Internet
banking customers.
SLMsoft.com will market CheckFree's electronic billing and payment
services to its 400 existing bank clients in the U.S. and to new prospects in
the mid-size financial institution market. These financial institutions can
capitalize on CheckFree's growing list of electronic billers, which currently
includes some of the nation's top billers such as MCI Worldcom, BellSouth,
Florida Power & Light, Qwest Telecommunications, Homeside Lending, Sallie Mae,
Boston Edison and more. By connecting with CheckFree's Genesis 2000 electronic
billing and payment engine, SLMsoft.com banking clients will also have access
to CheckFree's "Pay Everyone" capability that allows consumers to
electronically pay anyone to whom they would write a check.
SLMsoft.com's Internet banking solutions allow a bank's customers to
access financial accounts online and conduct full banking transactions,
including funds transfers between accounts and financial institutions, bank
statement access and check image retrieval from PCs and ITMs (Internet-enabled
ATMs). The Company's Internet banking services also include ATM services,
wealth management and telephone banking.
"Working with CheckFree allows SLMsoft.com to expand its Internet banking
services with the industry's most popular electronic billing and payment
technology," said Govin Misir, Chairman and CEO of SLMsoft.com. "Our strategy
to maintain a leadership position in providing end-to-end solutions is to grow
our services through build, buy or partner strategies in order to bring the
highest quality products to our clients worldwide. CheckFree is a pioneer and
the leader in this market with its fully integrated, end-to-end billing and
payment solution, so it was an easy decision to team with them to add the most
complete electronic billing and payment services available."
"SLMsoft.com's client base of financial institutions combined with their
ability to reach additional market segments make them a solid distribution
partner for CheckFree's services," said Lynn Busing, CheckFree Executive Vice
President of Account Management. "Our end-to-end electronic billing and
payment solution complements SLMsoft.com's Internet banking solutions and
enhances their position in the market as a single-source provider of
e-commerce solutions for financial institutions."
When requested by a bank's customers, billers will deliver the specified
consumer bills electronically to SLMsoft.com's client banks and handle
payments via CheckFree's Genesis 2000 integrated billing and payment engine.
SLMsoft.com allows customers to conveniently and securely view and pay their
bills online in a user-friendly graphical user interface.
According to Jupiter Communications, more than 15 million U.S. households
are expected to receive their bills online by 2002, giving banks and financial
portals a significant opportunity to capture the role of aggregator,
consolidating and presenting these bills to consumers on one site.
"SLMsoft.com's solutions enable banks to become aggregators of complete
financial services," continued Misir. "We provide the software and services
necessary for banks to add virtual centers of commerce, plus support their
brick-and-mortar operations. Our offerings cover the complete range of
electronic financial solutions from basic services like core banking, to
advanced, sophisticated e-commerce systems for the deployment of virtual
banks."
Technology solutions are especially critical for community banks that
don't have the financial resources or technical expertise to develop
e-commerce systems in-house. With technology, community banks can expand
market share, increase revenues, attract new customers and improve customer
retention rates. According to Deloitte and Touche Consulting Group, community
banks have overwhelmingly identified the "increased use of technology" as
their top priority over the next five years.
"Community banks recognize the need to use technology to grow their
businesses and increase revenues and profitability. SLMsoft.com's technology
solutions are the key for community banks to improve efficiency ratios,
generate new revenue streams and attract and retain profitable customers,"
stated Misir.
About CheckFree
CheckFree Corporation (www.checkfree.com), is the leading provider of
financial electronic commerce services and products. Founded as an electronic
payments processor in 1981, CheckFree launched the first fully integrated
electronic billing and payment solution, CheckFree E-Bill(sm), in March of
1997. Today, CheckFree services enable three million consumers to receive and
pay bills over the Internet or electronically. The Company has multi-year
contracts with 89 of the nation's top billers to provide online billing and
payment through its network of partnerships with more than 100 consumer
service providers (CSPs), including banks, brokerage firms, Internet portals
and content sites, and personal financial management (PFM) software.
CheckFree's Investment Services division provides a range of investment
management services to help more than 255 institutions provide portfolio
management and reporting services to their clients. CheckFree clients manage
over 820,000 portfolios totaling more than $480 billion in assets. Software
and services provided by CheckFree's Compliance and Financial Service division
are used to process more than two-thirds of the nation's six billion Automated
Clearing House (ACH) payments. In addition, nearly 400 banks and businesses
use reconciliation products and services the division provides.
About SLMsoft.com, Inc.
Founded in 1986, SLMsoft.com is a single-source global provider of fully
integrated, end-to-end electronic commerce solutions for financial
institutions, health care and retail organizations using open system
technologies. SLMsoft.com is the first to offer the financial market the
compatibility, flexibility and upward scalability necessary for global
electronic service delivery. Its ESP-Link(TM) suite of totally secure
e-commerce solutions include Internet and personal computer banking; ATM
networks and services; point-of-sale; debit, credit and smart cards; and check
imaging and core processing. SLMsoft.com, with over 700 employees in 30
offices worldwide, serves 1,500 customers in 52 countries on five continents. |
