Doc here's the other we were looking for information on....
Edify to Join CheckFree E-Bill Partner Program Targeting Web-Based Bill Presentment and Payment
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Edify Corporation (Nasdaq: EDFY), a leading provider of self service software, has signed a letter of intent to partner with CheckFree Corporation for bill presentment and payment processing. Upon executing the final agreement, Edify will become a CheckFree E-Bill Program Partner. The program allows banks and other financial institutions to offer their customers the convenience and flexibility of receiving and paying their bills online with the click of a button. Customers will be presented with full-color, electronic bills --
complete with graphics, logos and billing information -- right on their PC screen. Once paid, the bill can be stored electronically for future reference by the customer.
"As trusted intermediaries, financial institutions are the place people want to go to electronically bank, receive and pay bills," said Peter J. Kight, president and CEO of CheckFree. "We're pleased to welcome Edify into our E-Bill Program, which enables financial institutions everywhere to offer complete, non-paper, financial electronic commerce."
In a related release today, Edify introduced its new Open Financial Exchange (OFX) module for its Electronic Banking System, EBS, (See release: "Edify Announces Support for Open Financial Exchange, Expanding Self Service Delivery Options For Financial Institutions"). EBS will use the OFX protocol to connect with CheckFree for billing information as well as to exchange banking, billing and payment information with leading Personal Financial Management software products such as Intuit Quicken(R) and Microsoft Money(R).
"We believe that electronic bill presentment is the 'killer application' that will catalyze acceptance of on-line banking," said William A. Soward, director of financial applications marketing for Edify Corporation. "We are pleased to be working closely with CheckFree, a pioneer in electronic bill presentment and bill payment, to bring this important new capability to our joint financial institution customers."
Atlanta Internet Bank, (Nasdaq: NTBK) based in Atlanta, Georgia, is an early innovator in electronic bill presentment and a customer of both Edify and CheckFree. In October 1996, the bank deployed EBS for Web banking and bill payment, becoming the only bank to operate exclusively through the Internet, delivering a complete set of Web banking services to customers across the country and around the world. The bank currently has more than 4,000 customers and in excess of $48 million in deposits. "Electronic bill presentment allows us to take customer service to the next level," said D.R. Grimes, CEO of Atlanta Internet Bank. "As an industry leader it is important that we participate with respected vendors such as Edify and CheckFree to develop and deliver new products to our customers. This is the most significant advance in bill payment in the last 20 years."
Electronic Banking System -- A Complete Direct Banking Solution
Edify's Electronic Banking System is a software application product that offers financial institutions the means to deploy a suite of automated banking services via the World Wide Web. It addresses several emerging electronic banking trends: customer demand for anytime, anywhere, any way service; product time-to-market imperatives; and increasingly complex back office integration challenges. EBS represents a new breed of self service software, enabling financial institutions to enhance the level of service they provide to customers and prospects.
Electronic Banking System Release 2, which supports the Windows NT operating environment, is Edify's newest release of the product, and is scheduled for general availability by year end. This release will be used as the foundation for delivering support for Open Financial Exchange. In addition to support of Windows NT, EBS Release 2 features an extended open architecture, enhanced visual development tools and larger scale deployment for high-end applications.
Since its introduction in 1996, Edify's Electronic Banking System has quickly become a preferred Web banking solution, with nine customers among the top 100 banks, including Chase Manhattan Bank, FifthThird Bank and Harris Bank, and more than 40 banks worldwide.
Additionally, several global technology and solutions providers including Hewlett Packard, NCR and Price Waterhouse have partnered with Edify to provide their customers with complete EBS-based Web banking solutions.
About CheckFree
Founded in 1981, CheckFree Corporation (http://www.checkfree.com) is the leading provider of electronic commerce services, software and related products for more than 2 million consumers, 1,000 businesses and 850 financial institutions. CheckFree designs, develops and markets services that enable its customers to make electronic payments and collections, automate paper- based recurring financial transactions and conduct secure transactions on the Internet.
About Edify Corporation
Edify is a leading supplier of self service solutions used by Global 2000 organizations to deploy automated services via the Internet, corporate intranets and the telephone. The company's flagship product, the Electronic Workforce, is an application development and runtime platform, enabling fast, cost-effective creation and deployment of semi-custom self service solutions. The Electronic Banking System and Employee Service System are packaged application products addressing the needs of the electronic banking and employee self service markets respectively. Edify self service solutions offer organizations the means to automate, integrate and personalize interactions with customers and employees, yielding stronger, more profitable relationships.
The company's software is licensed to more than 900 organizations across 1,600 sites worldwide. Edify software is distributed directly and through leading solutions providers, applications partners and distributors worldwide. With more than 340 employees, Edify Corporation is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, telephone (408) 982-2000. Additional information about Edify may be obtained via the World Wide Web at edify.com.
Statements in this press release relating to anticipated future products and services are forward looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.
Although on-line banking has been available in various forms for many years, there can be no assurance that consumers will accept on-line banking over the Internet or the company's products in sufficient numbers to make on-line banking or the company's products successful. In addition, given the uncertainties of software development, there can be no assurance that the company's products will be available in the anticipated time frames.
Edify and Electronic Workforce are registered trademarks, and Electronic Banking System and Employee Service System are trademarks of Edify Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
/CONTACT: Tricia Willcoxon of Edify Corporation, 408-982-2014; or
Angelique Reynolds of The Horn Group, 650-579-6411/
"Copyright(c) 1997, PR Newswire"
"Provided by Dow Jones & Company, Inc." |
