CYCH... no bad news rather things seem to hopping along .. CyberCash and Edison Electric Institute Team up to Enable Customers <CYCH.O>
CyberCash and Edison Electric Institute
Team up to Enable Customers to Pay Bills on the Internet
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 1998--
Electronic Commerce Payment Solutions Provide
Added Value for Utilities
CyberCash Inc. and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Monday
announced the availability of secure Internet payment services to
EEI's electric utility industry members at a significant discount.
At EEI's Annual Convention/Expo in Chicago today, CyberCash is
scheduled to formally introduce the CyberCash PayNow(TM) Secure
Electronic Check Service, which will enable EEI member companies to
receive payments from consumers over the Internet.
The agreement provides EEI members with the option of
incorporating the CyberCash PayNow(TM) Secure Electronic Check Service
into their Internet strategies The CyberCash program gives billers
direct access to consumers without a third party billing
intermediary.
This empowers billers to control their own billing, leverage
their brand identity and strengthen their relationships with their
own customers.
The agreement allows all EEI members, which include over 120 of
the largest electric utility companies in the country, to receive
rebates by signing up for CyberCash's PayNow Secure Electronic Check
Service.
With the CyberCash program, EEI provides value added services to
its members by being on the cutting edge of bill payment technology.
Members gain because EEI provides them access to electronic
technology at a lower cost.
"Our recognizing CyberCash as a provider for electronic bill
payment services indicates that Internet bill payment is coming of
age," said Jon Arnold, chief technology officer for EEI.
"Electronic bill payment is a strategic decision for our utility
membership. They are all looking at it. CyberCash came to us with a
creative solution that works for us, our members and the market as
whole. It is a great option for our members to consider as they move
forward with their Internet strategies."
Electric companies collect almost $200 billion annually. Using
the Internet to link directly to the customers they serve and to
automate customers' remittances can cut processing costs
significantly.
"More than 37% of all households in America use some form of
direct payment, accounting for approximately 1 billion electronic
payments that are completely controlled and branded by billers,"
said Nancy Goldberg, vice president of the Internet bill payment
services division of CyberCash Inc.
"CyberCash as an Internet payment option for EEI members
reinforces the biller's franchise and brand with the added benefit of
allowing customers to initiate their own direct payments for
electronically presented bills."
The CyberCash PayNow Secure Electronic Check Service enables
consumers to pay their bills directly on the biller's web site
without going to a third-party concentrator or a home banking
service. PayNow is one of the first to implement a solution for
electronic bill payment.
Billers may work with a CyberCash partner, choose their own
partner or build their own presentment engine. PayNow works with any
market solution. All consumers paying their bills need is access to
the Internet and a Web browser.
"Billers are embracing the Internet as a medium that provides
timely information to consumers, reduces costs and offers the
opportunity for creative marketing to their best customers. Our
program with EEI will help accelerate our strategy of empowering
billers to implement electronic bill presentment and payment," said
Richard Crone, vice president and general manager of PayNow.
About The Edison Electric Institute
EEI is the association of the nation's investor-owned electric
utilities and industry affiliates and associates worldwide. EEI's
members generate approximately three quarters of all the electricity
generated by electric utilities in the United States and serve about
the same portion of all ultimate electricity customers in the nation.
About CyberCash Inc.
CyberCash Inc., headquartered in Reston, Va., is a pioneer and
leading provider of payment software and services - globally.
The company offers a complete suite of Internet payment solutions
including a payment card service which supports credit, debit and
purchase cards, an innovative electronic cash service which enables
micro payments and other cash transactions and a secure electronic
check service which allows consumer-to-business and
business-to-business payments from a bank account.
CyberCash is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market, under the symbol
CYCH.
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