This was/is a step forward isn't it?
Wednesday September 16, 9:00 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Edify Corporation
Edify Unveils Industry's First Complete Bill Presentment and Payment Solution
New Electronic Banking System Release 3 Helps Financial Institutions Build Customer Loyalty
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Edify Corporation (Nasdaq: EDFY - news), a global leader providing enterprise self service solutions, today unveiled Electronic Banking System (EBS) Release 3, the latest version of its industry-leading Internet banking package. EBS Release 3 includes several new enhancements that, taken together, provide the industry's first complete bill presentment and payment (EBPP) solution. Edify's innovative approach helps financial institutions enhance customer relationships by aggregating billing and payment information on behalf of their customer base.
Edify's Electronic Banking System, which has already been licensed to over 80 financial institutions around the world, now incorporates end-to-end support for online bill presentment and payment, providing financial institutions with a pre-built application solution that gives them greater control over their customers' total banking activities. The Edify EBPP solution is comprised of an application suite consisting of four software modules, including a Bill Presentment Engine, Bill Payment Engine, Open Finance Server and CheckBook transaction register that enable financial institutions to offer innovative new services that will help build customer loyalty. The modules are designed as an integrated electronic delivery system that provides sophisticated billing and payment management services that work in conjunction with leading third-party processors like CheckFree and TransPoint (formerly MSFDC).
''The advent of electronic bill presentment and payment dramatically alters the online financial services landscape,'' said William A. Soward, vice president, product marketing, Edify Corporation. ''As the first to market with this complete solution, Edify provides financial institutions with several strategic weapons that can help them more effectively compete in this high stakes race to lock down customer relationships and share of wallet.''
''EBPP is being rapidly deployed, and we expect it to bring significant new marketing opportunities to financial institutions that
embrace it fully,'' said Octavio Marenzi, research director at Meridien Research, Boston. ''Successful EBPP strategies will be built around systems that intelligently aggregate and manage billing information from multiple third-party processors and bill publishers.''
Implementation of Edify's first bill presentment pilot is scheduled to begin in Q4 1998 at Net.B@nk (formerly known as the Atlanta Internet Bank), an Edify EBS customer since 1996. That pilot will initially present and manage summary billing information that has been received from CheckFree's E-Bill(SM) service. Net.B@nk, with over $200 million in assets, is the first Internet only bank and currently has over 13,000 customers banking online.
Electronic Banking System Release 3 Provides a Complete EBPP Solution
Edify's EBPP solution is architected to work with one or more third party processors and bill publishers, enabling the financial institution to more rapidly increase the number of supported billers, while at the same time reducing the risk of processor lock-in.
EBS Release 3 includes a suite of four optional software modules, including a Bill Presentment Engine, Bill Payment Engine, Open Finance Server and CheckBook transaction register:
Bill Presentment Engine-Aggregates and manages summary billing information from one or more bill consolidators like CheckFree and TransPoint and presents a consolidated view of bills to enrolled customers. Customer friendly features include BillAlert and AutoPay. BillAlert is a personalized e-mail alert service that acts as a payment reminder, notifying the customer when bills arrive in their online account. AutoPay provides customers with the option of allowing bills to be automatically paid if they fall below a customer defined threshold amount for a particular biller. Bill Payment Engine-Manages the online bill payment process across multiple access devices including the web, telephone and PFMs, ensuring that the customer experience is consistent and up to date, regardless of how and when the information is accessed. Customers have access to a full range of bill payment services including online enrollment, payment scheduling, payment verification and payee administration services. At the core of the Bill Payment Engine is the Payment Warehouse, which is responsible for storing and managing customer payment information. With the Payment Warehouse, financial institutions keep all customer information on site, reducing the risk of processor lock-in.
Open Finance Server-Edify's pre-built support for the Open Financial Exchange (OFX) specification. Shipping since early 1998, this module has now been extended to support the bill presentment messages contained in OFX Release 1.5. Edify will use OFX 1.5 as the protocol for exchanging relevant EBPP information with third party consolidators and bill publishers.
CheckBook-Provides an online transaction registry, which gives the customer, control and management of their finances through automatic reconciliation, expense categorization and budget analysis. As customers begin to view and pay bills online, this service will become essential as customers increasingly become dependant on the financial institution to provide insight on the status of their financial affairs.
Initial shipments of Edify Electronic Banking System Release 3 are planned for Q4 1998. Each of the EBPP modules is optional and may be purchased separately. Pricing for the combined EBPP solution starts at $150,000.
Edify's Electronic Banking System
Edify's Electronic Banking System (EBS) is a comprehensive direct banking solution providing financial institutions the means to deploy personalized, content-rich electronic banking services via multiple access channels including the Internet, telephones and personal financial management software.
Since its introduction in 1996, Edify's Electronic Banking System has become the leading on-premise Web banking solution, with more than eighty financial institutions as customers worldwide -- thirteen of them among the top 100 U.S. banks including Chase Manhattan Bank, Fifth Third Bank and Harris Bank. Additionally, major global technology and solutions providers, including Hewlett-Packard Company [NYSE:HWP - news] and NCR, have partnered with Edify to provide their customers with complete EBS-based direct banking solutions.
About Edify Corporation
Edify Corporation is a global leader providing enterprise self service solutions used by Global 2000 organizations to deploy automated service solutions via the Internet, corporate intranets and the telephone. Edify's 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 has been licensed to more than 1,100 organizations worldwide. Edify software is distributed directly and through leading solutions providers, application partners and distributors worldwide. With 390 employees, Edify Corporation is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with European headquarters in London, England. Additional information about Edify may be obtained by calling 408-982-2000 (USA) or 44-181-263-2710 (Europe, Middle East, Africa) or via the World Wide Web at edify.com.
Forward Looking Statements
The matters set forth in this press release, such as statements relating to EBS and other 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, including EBS, 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 implemented in the anticipated time frames. Further information on the important factors that could affect the results or outcomes discussed in the forward looking statements is included in Edify's annual report on Form 10K and its other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
NOTE: Edify is a registered trademark of Edify Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE: Edify Corporation |
