TSYS(R) Teams with CheckFree to Offer Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment/Unveils Electronic Commerce Initiatives
Cardholders to Receive and Pay Bills over the Internet
COLUMBUS, Ga., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Total System Services, Inc.(R) (NYSE: TSS)(TSYS), announced today an alliance with CheckFree (Nasdaq: CKFR) that will allow cardholders of TSYS clients to receive and pay their credit card bills over the Internet.
TSYS is one of the world's largest credit, debit, commercial and private- label card processors. The Columbus-based company serves card-issuing institutions throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. CheckFree is the leading provider of electronic bill presentment and payment services to financial institutions. The alliance brings together the strengths and expertise of two technology leaders.
As a result of the agreement, TSYS will provide for its client a new on- line bill presentment and payment service called SureRemit(sm), one of the components of the TSYS SureTransact(sm) family of Electronic Commerce products. SureRemit will work the following way: CheckFree will facilitate transmissions of billing data from TSYS to individual cardholders who will then be able to view their statements and pay them with point-and-click ease.
TSYS President Philip W. Tomlinson said, "This partnership will allow Total System to offer unprecedented functionality to the 92 million cardholders we currently process on behalf of our clients. Our clients benefit from reduced costs in printing and mailing statements, as well as in remittance processing fees. Cardholders save postage and check costs. The alliance is a win-win situation for everyone."
"As one of the largest billers in the world, producing approximately 500 million statements a year, Total System is a perfect partner for CheckFree's E-Bill bill presentment and payment services," said Pete Kight, president and chief executive officer of CheckFree. "Our alliance brings unique and unprecedented capability to Total System's clients."
Along with SureRemit, other products and services in the TSYS SureTransact family of services include: SureService(sm) and SureCommerce(sm). The SureService product offers TSYS clients the ability to provide balance inquiry, transaction inquiry and bank and corporate setup to their customers. SureCommerce will allow clients to issue card payment certificates over the Internet securely following the Secure Electronic Transaction protocol set forth by Visa(R) and MasterCard(R).
The only company with a proven, in-market tested solution for electronic billing and payment, CheckFree has contracts with 23 of the nation's largest billers, as well as the largest statement processor, for electronic bill presentment. In addition, Atlanta-based CheckFree will announce soon the full market launch of bill presentment for some of the largest billers in the world. Combined, these billers represent nearly 400 million billing and payment transactions per month.
Founded in 1981, Atlanta-based CheckFree (www.checkfree.com) is the leading provider of electronic commerce services, software and related products for 2.2 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 over the Internet.
In March 1997, CheckFree introduced the nation's first end-to-end system for electronic presentment of richly formatted bills over the Internet, as well as next-generation electronic payment and remittance capabilities. CheckFree's E-Bill uses existing payment systems and allows consumers to access and pay their bills through the branded home-banking services of financial institutions.
Headquartered in Columbus, Ga., TSYS is one of the world's largest credit, debit, commercial and private-label card processing companies, serving card- issuing institutions throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico, representing more than 92 million cardholder accounts. TSYS provides a comprehensive on-line system of data processing services marketed as THE TOTAL SYSTEM(R). In 1996, TSYS formed a joint venture with Visa(R) U.S.A. to create Vital Processing Services L.L.C. (www.vitalps.com), a leading full-service merchant services provider. TSYS' 1997 revenues totaled $361.5 million; the company is an 80.7 percent owned subsidiary of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: SNV) (www.synovus.com), a $9.3 billion asset, multi-financial services company and a component of the Standard and Poors 500 Index. Synovus also includes 34 banking affiliates in four Southeastern states, a full-service brokerage firm, a comprehensive trust services provider and a mortgage services company. TSYS' Internet address is www.totalsystem.com.
SOURCE Total System Services, Inc.
CO: Total Services, Inc.; CheckFree Corporation |
