CheckFree and Equifax E-Banking Solutions Sign Three-Year Exclusive Reseller Agreement for Electronic Billing and Payment
Agreement Brings Fully Integrated EBP Solution to More Than 6,400 Financial Institutions
ATLANTA, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- CheckFree (Nasdaq: CKFR - news), the leading provider of financial electronic commerce processing and services, and Equifax E-Banking Solutions (formerly Goldleaf Technologies), one of the largest providers of electronic banking software in the U.S., with approximately 7,000 licensed programs in more than 1,400 financial institutions worldwide, today announced that they have signed a three-year reseller agreement for electronic billing and payment (EBP).
Equifax E-Banking Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Equifax, Inc. (NYSE: EFX - news), the premier financial information and processing solutions company.
Under the terms of the agreement, Equifax E-Banking Solutions will resell CheckFree E-Bill services to their customers, which include banks, credit unions, and saving institutions worldwide. Equifax E-Banking Solutions has been selected by IBAA Bancard to provide internet banking to IBAA (Independent Bankers Association of America) member-banks, thus allowing Equifax E-Banking Solutions to expand their outsourcing services to include EBP to more than 5,000 IBAA community banks in the United States.
''When we decided to expand our service offering to include electronic bill presentment and payment, CheckFree quickly became the obvious choice,'' said David Peterson, senior vice president/general manager of Equifax. ''By partnering with CheckFree to become an authorized reseller of CheckFree E-Bill we can provide sophisticated Internet-based solutions for our customers, allowing them to effectively compete in the marketplace.''
''It is critical for smaller financial institutions to be able to provide their customer base with the latest advances technology can provide,'' said Linda Echard, president and CEO of IBAA Bancard. ''The challenge is to be able to implement and support such technology without the volume efficiencies possible in large institutions. That's where companies like Equifax and CheckFree can combine their strengths to make fully integrated solutions available to institutions of all sizes.''
Pete Sinisgalli, chief operating officer for CheckFree, added, ''With Equifax's reach and industry reputation, they are an important addition to CheckFree's EBP reseller program. Such partners continue to expand our distribution channels to provide the best electronic billing and payment solution to the financial services market.''
About Equifax
Equifax is a worldwide leader in shaping global commerce by bringing buyers and sellers together through its information, transaction processing, consulting and knowledge-based businesses. Equifax serves the banking, financial, retail, credit card, telecommunications/utilities, transportation and healthcare industries and government. Founded in 1899, Atlanta-based Equifax today has 14,000 employees in 18 countries and sales in more than 45 countries. Revenues for the 12 months ended December 31, 1998, were more than $1.6 billion. For more Equifax information, visit the company's Internet Web site at equifax.com .
About IBAA Bancard
IBAA Bancard is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Independent Bankers Association of America. Since 1985, IBAA Bancard has provided more than 2,000 community banks with equitable access to payment system products and services. In addition to ATM, credit, and debit cards, banks have access to merchant services, ATM driving, retail insurance products, risk management services and marketing services. In 1998, Bancard chartered TCM Bank, N.A., a limited-purpose, credit card bank to support its agent bank credit card option called Total Card Management. For more information, visit our Web site at www.ibaabancard.org .
About CheckFree
Founded in 1981, CheckFree, the operating subsidiary of CheckFree Holdings Corp. (www.checkfree.com ), is the leading provider of electronic commerce services, software and related products for more than 2.6 million consumers, 1,000 businesses and 850 financial institutions. CheckFree designs, develops and markets services that enable its customers to make electronic payments and collections, automate paper-based recurring financial transactions and conduct secure transactions on the Internet.
CheckFree currently works with more than 40 of the nation's top billers to provide electronic billing and payment. Of these billers, nearly half are already actively presenting bills to consumers, including: BellSouth, CUNA Mutual Insurance, Florida Power & Light, HomeSide Lending, MCI WorldCom, Portland General Electric and the Small Business Administration.
SOURCE: CheckFree Corporation |
