Wells Fargo Bank Offers 80,000 Merchants Free Internet Presence Through Verio's TABNet Subsidiary - PR Newswire - August 17, 1998 09:30
(Minor VRSN reference)
Wells and TABNet Team Up to Provide Free Domain Name, Starter Web Page
WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Wells Fargo Bank today announced it has teamed with TABNet, a subsidiary of leading Internet connectivity and Web hosting company Verio Inc. (Nasdaq: VRIO), to offer the 80,000 customers of the bank's Merchant Banking Division the unprecedented opportunity to establish a storefront on the Internet -- the fastest-growing sales channel in the United States -- for free.
In addition to receiving free domain name registration from TABNet and a free starter - or business card - Web page built and hosted by TABNet, Wells Fargo customers will also have access to sophisticated electronic business solutions like NetPayment, TABNet's credit card transaction tool which uses ICVERIFY's NetVERIFY payment processing software for implementation. The special offer, which will appear in Wells Fargo customers' statements this month, does not include a standard fee of $70 for two years of Web presence imposed by InterNIC, the Internet's authorized naming clearinghouse.
"This is our way of saying thank you to the merchant customers who have been critical in establishing our leadership role in small business and Internet commerce," said Tim Knowlton, Internet Product Manager of Wells Fargo Merchant Banking Division. "Many of our customers are assessing the pros and cons of launching electronic storefronts and this offering is one more thing we can do to help get their businesses up and running on the Internet."
Wells Fargo's Merchant Banking Division was the first major U.S. bank to offer Internet credit card transaction processing for merchants. Unlike many processors who charge daily and weekly fees, Wells Fargo Merchant Banking bills on a monthly basis so small businesses can maximize cash flow between payments. TABNet will promote Wells Fargo merchant card services through conspicuous Web site links and an extensive e-mail campaign to the company's small business accounts.
"TABNet and Wells Fargo were pioneers in electronic payment solutions for small businesses, and the bank's merchant card division in particular has a long history of providing flexible electronic banking services while other financial institutions often make it difficult to authorize online business accounts," noted Ken Leonard, TABNet Founder and President of TABNet. "We look forward to providing Wells Fargo customers with the solutions that have allowed us to put more businesses online than any other Web hosting company."
About Wells Fargo Merchant Banking
Beginning in 1995, Wells Fargo was one of the first banks to make payment by credit card over the Internet available to merchants. Today Wells Fargo Merchant Banking Division handles the payment processing needs of 2,000 "virtual" merchants located throughout the United States. A few of its better-known customers include eBay (www.ebay.com), eToys (www.etoys.com), Virtual Vineyards (www.virtualvin.com) and Garden Escape (www.garden.com). Founded in 1852, Wells Fargo Bank today has assets of $93.2 billion, 31,600 employees, and is the11th largest bank holding company in the United States with 1,875 branches. On June 8, Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) announced plans to merge with Norwest Corp. of Minneapolis, Minn. The merger is expected to be completed sometime this fall.
About TABNet
Since its founding in 1995, TABNet of Napa, California has become one of the world's leading domain name registration and Web hosting services companies with over 72,000 customers worldwide and offices in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. The TABNet family of products and services includes NetPayment(sm), the industry's leading turn-key online payment system; QuickTools(sm), a suite of automated software tools for interactive web site authoring; TABNet Design, a web site design service for small and medium sized businesses; and NetAnnounce(sm), a full service web site marketing and promotion service. TABNet enjoys strategic, co-branding marketing agreements with industry leaders such as Excite, Inc. (Nasdaq: XCIT), Infoseek, Inc. (Nasdaq: SEEK), WhoWhere?, Inc., CoffeeCup Software, Inc. and one of the largest financial associations in Europe, Bausparkasse Schwaebisch Hall AG. Additional strategic partners include CyberCash's ICVERIFY division (Nasdaq: CYCH), Network Solutions Inc., (Nasdaq: NSOL) and Verisign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN). TABNet was acquired by Verio Inc. (Nasdaq: VRIO) in July 1998.
About Verio Inc.
Verio Inc. (Nasdaq: VRIO) is a leading national provider of Internet connectivity, Web hosting and enhanced Internet services with an emphasis on serving the small and medium-sized business market. Since its inception in March 1996, Verio has rapidly established a national presence through the acquisition, integration and growth of local and regional Internet providers with a business customer focus that provide locally-based sales and engineering support in 38 of the top 50 U.S. markets under the Verio brand name.
For more information on Verio, visit the Company's Web site at www.verio.net or call 1-888-GET-VERIO. The corporate headquarters are located in Englewood, Colorado at 8005 S. Chester St., Suite 200, 80112, phone number 303-645-1900.
SOURCE TABNet
/CONTACT: Kathleen Kerrigan, Director of Media and Advertising, of
TABNet, 707-256-1999, ext. 1006, or katie@tabnet.com; or Mark Marymee, Vice
President of Public Relations, of Wells Fargo Bank, 415-396-3983, or
marymeem@wellsfargo.com/
/Web site: tabnet.com
verio.net
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