Harp and all:
According to Nancy Atkinson, Vice President, Mellon Global Cash ManagementSM, ''Mellon Bank can see the tremendous potential of using the Internet as an efficient and low cost medium for transmitting payment instructions. BIPS does not require a large investment in equipment or development time and leverages our existing ACH system. Most importantly, it provides flexible new payment initiation options for our corporate clients to offer to their customers.''
This release from Mellon explains a lot of what has been happening in the background of the bill presentment/payment arena for the last 9 months or so. It appears that banks which have been historically very "systems" and cash management savvy (Mellon, Huntington, M&I to name a few) are cobbling together their own sort of "home made" versions of presentment/payment systems. They figure they can combine the cheap front ends available today (eventually all the "portals" will have them) with their corporate lock box capability and serve a decent number of blue chip corporate billers. Maybe even enough to reach critical mass in the business, and then offer it externally to other financial institutions. Unless I miss my guess, the first part (building it) shouldn't be too difficult for most of these banks. The tricky part will come when they "take it on the road" and run into the same sort of problems Transpoint and CKFR have already seen regarding data ownership, cost and "not invented here" concerns. Even if these questions can be addressed, they still will not have the ease of use and service advantages of a CKFR, a company which has been dealing with consumers for many years. You're right Harp, it is too complicated: NO MOIST TOWLETTE YET.
Charlie |
