Go2Net and Fleet Select MasterCard International as Sponsoring Payment System For Go2Net Credit Cards
PR Newswire, Tuesday, February 23, 1999 at 08:48
SEATTLE, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Go2Net, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNET), a network of
branded, technology- and community-driven Web sites, and Fleet Credit Card
Services today announced that they have reached agreement with MasterCard
International to be the sponsoring payment system for Go2Net-branded credit
cards available to users of the Go2Net Network ( go2net.com ). The
credit cards will feature the Go2Net Network brand, along with brands of the
network's most popular sites, including Silicon Investor, MetaCrawler and
HyperMart, among others.
The Go2Net credit cards are anticipated to be available in Second Quarter
1999 via the Go2Net Network and will be marketed, issued and administered by
Fleet under a separate marketing agreement announced in December 1998.
"We're very pleased to be working with a globally recognized organization
like MasterCard as we continue to develop and extend the electronic commerce
elements of the Go2Net Network," said Russell C. Horowitz, Go2Net chief
executive officer. "Today's agreements are the first in what we hope will be
many between Go2Net and MasterCard. There are clearly some strong synergies
between our organizations and we plan to explore these further as the Go2Net
Network and our commerce applications evolve."
"Fleet strongly believes that the Internet will be an important growth
channel in the competitive payment card industry," said Joseph Saunders, CEO
and Chairman of Fleet Credit Card Services. "We're delighted to be working
with proven leaders like Go2Net and MasterCard in extending our credit card
offerings to the Go2Net Network's rapidly growing user base."
Go2Net also announced today that MasterCard will sponsor several
point-of-purchase membership subscription areas on Go2Net's Silicon Investor
( siliconinvestor.com ), the Web's premier financial discussion
site, along with selected other areas of the Go2Net Network. Silicon Investor
is among the Web's largest and fastest-growing subscription-based communities,
receiving more than 2 million unique visitors per month and 100,000 member
postings per week.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
About Fleet Financial Group
Fleet Credit Card Services, based in Horsham, Pennsylvania, is the
nation's seventh largest Visa and MasterCard issuer. Part of Fleet Financial
Group, Fleet Credit Card Services has approximately $15 billion in managed
receivables and more than eight million credit card customers.
Fleet Financial Group, headquartered in Boston and listed on the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE:FLT) is a diversified financial services company with
$104.4 billion in assets and more than $80 billion in assets under management.
Fleet is the nation's sixth largest commercial lender and New England's
leading small business lender. Fleet's products and services include consumer
banking, government banking, mortgage banking, corporate finance, commercial
real estate lending, credit cards, insurance services, cash management,
capital markets, equipment leasing and asset-based lending. Fleet also
provides a wide array of investment management services for both individuals
and institutional clients and operates the nation's third largest discount
brokerage firm through its Quick & Reilly, Inc. subsidiary. With nearly
1,200 branches and 2,500 ATMs, Fleet also provides 24-hour telephone banking
as well as on-line banking services through the Internet and through its
PC Banking software for individuals and businesses.
About MasterCard International
MasterCard International has the most comprehensive portfolio of payment
brands in the world. With 23,000 member financial institutions, serving
consumers in 220 countries and territories, MasterCard is the industry leader
in quality and innovation. More than 600 million MasterCard(R), Maestro(R),
Cirrus(R) and Mondex(TM) cards are accepted at more than 15 million locations
worldwide. In 1997, gross dollar volume exceeded $600 billion. MasterCard
can be reached through its World Wide Web site at mastercard.com.
About Go2Net, Inc.
Go2Net is a network of branded, technology- and community-driven Web sites
focused on the following categories: personal finance, search, commerce, and
games. The company also develops Web-related software. The Go2Net Network's
properties include: Go2Net Personal ( go2net.com ), which provides
users with a comprehensive Internet start page offering customizable news,
discussion, and stock information, as well as direct access to Go2Net's own
finance, search, free Web hosting, shopping and Java multiplayer game sites;
Silicon Investor ( siliconinvestor.com ), the Web's premier
financial discussion site; StockSite ( stocksite.com ), which
offers proprietary articles, portfolio tracking tools, company research and
news relating to business and finance; MetaCrawler
( metacrawler.com ), a metasearch service that combines various
existing search/index guides into one service; 100hot
( 100hot.com ), the Internet's premier category-by-category ranking
index of Web sites; HyperMart ( hypermart.net ), the Web's leading
provider of free business hosting services; WebMarket
( webmarket.com ), a one-stop comparison shopping service; and
PlaySite ( playsite.com ), the Web's premier Java-based
multi-player games site. The company's Go2Net Labs division develops
innovative technologies to enhance the features and functionality of the
Go2Net sites and for licensing to other Internet companies.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties, including those relating to the company's ability to grow
its user and advertiser base. Actual results may differ materially from the
results predicted and reported results should not be considered as an
indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties
include, among others, the company's limited operating history, the
competitive environment in which the company competes, the early stage of the
Web as an advertising medium, the company's dependence on advertising revenues
and the company's dependence on strategic relationships to drive traffic to
its Web sites. More information about the potential factors that could affect
the company's business and financial results is included in the company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 1998, which is on
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: Mark S. Peterson, Director of Public Relations, Go2Net, Inc.,
206-447-1595, or mark@go2net.com; or Kathy Conaboy, V.P., Planning and
Communications, of Fleet Credit Card Services, 215-444-2817, or
kconaboy@fleetcc.com |
