some light reading. not real important, but interesting none the less...
(COMTEX) B: CITIGROUP: e-Citi, Sonera & 724 Solutions partner to deve
B: CITIGROUP: e-Citi, Sonera & 724 Solutions partner to develop secure wireless
access to financial services
AUG 10, 1999, M2 Communications - New York, London and Toronto --
Citigroup's e-Citi unit and Sonera Ltd. today announced they are
entering into a strategic partnership with 724 Solutions Inc. to drive
secure wireless access to financial services on a worldwide scale. As
part of the agreement, e-Citi and Sonera will each make a strategic
investment in 724 Solutions.
e-Citi is a global leader in electronic financial services and
e-commerce. Sonera is the international forerunner in mobile, data and
media communication. 724 Solutions Inc. is a leading software developer
that specializes in building and deploying mission critical wireless
applications for financial services providers.
724 Solutions together with its partners will globally deliver secure
wireless financial applications and solutions on a wide array of
devices such as mobile phones, connected personal digital assistants,
smart phones and digital television. Through cooperation and
partnership, these applications and solutions will soon be available
for consumers throughout the world. As a result of this partnership,
Citigroup will offer these services to its customers worldwide. The
first Sonera SmartTrust integrated solutions are expected to be
available in the first quarter of 2000.
"Consumers have spoken: they want wireless access. There are between
300-400 million mobile devices in use today," said Ed Horowitz,
Citigroup senior officer and head of e-Citi.
Analysts predict explosive growth for the mobile device market in the
next few years, with most predicting 1 billion mobile phones in use in
the next four to six years. According to Gartner Group, mobile phones
are expected to be the most common client device worldwide by 2005. In
July, Ovum reported that smart phones and data-centric terminals will
account for as much as two thirds of the estimated $67 billion handset
market in 2004. These devices, merging voice and data capabilities in
an accessible and easy-to-use handset, provide the ideal platform for
delivering high-value wireless financial services for mass consumer
use.
"Our partnership with 724 Solutions kickstarts our entry into
wireless delivery of financial services worldwide. Citigroup has 100
million customers and we're building toward a billion by offering them
our services when they want it, where they want it and how they want
it. 724 Solutions' breakthrough technology and expertise will enable us
to leverage innovative wireless devices like mobile phones and personal
digital assistants to all our customers around the world giving them
greater choice, access and control of their money," added Horowitz.
e-Citi is driving the electronic delivery of Citigroup's banking,
investment and insurance products and services across a wide range of
channels, through partnerships with best in class products and
technology developed in house. The e-Citi team is creating a suite of
electronic products and services to meet customer needs in the evolving
global economy. These solutions are designed to support the new
electronic way of doing business.
"Wireless banking will be the biggest challenge and opportunity for
financial institutions since the Internet. The highly advanced
applications and insight on financial markets and services of 724
Solutions combined with Citigroup's powerful global brands and
extensive customer base and Sonera's leading-edge wireless security
solutions positions each of us for the significant growth of wireless
banking and brokerage. Soneras objective is to provide potential
partners and customers easy access to the best technology for mobile
commerce," says Harri Vatanen, head and founder of Sonera SmartTrust.
Sonera brings extensive market experience in mobile communications,
wireless data applications in Europe and advanced security solutions
that augment 724 Solutions' architecture. 724 Solutions has delivered
North America's first wireless banking and brokerage production system
and is a leader in the infrastructure and supporting applications
allowing the delivery of financial services to a wide range of devices.
Sonera will provide 724 Solutions with its SmartTrust public key
infrastructure (PKI) based digital signature technology and 1024-bit
data encryption.
Greg Wolfond, founder and chief executive officer of 724 Solutions,
said, "This strategic relationship is a major milestone for 724
Solutions. We're proud to be working with e-Citi and Sonera to open new
mobile transaction channels for their customers. e-Citi is clearly at
the forefront of a new era in financial service that will enable
consumers to access their bank accounts, pay bills, transfer funds, and
trade online with greater ease, security and convenience than ever
before."
724 Solutions' software provides the critical end-to-end software
system that allows financial institutions to bridge their existing
systems and content to any Internet access devices or channel. The
solution also provides the capability to deliver consumer-driven alerts
and personalized information in a consistent way, regardless of the
type of Internet appliance.
About Citigroup
Citigroup, formed on Oct. 8, 1998 by the merger of Citicorp and
Travelers Group Inc., consists of businesses that produce a broad range
of financial services -- asset management, banking and consumer
finance, credit and charge cards, insurance, investments, investment
banking and trading -- and use diverse channels to make them available
to consumer and corporate customers around the world. In addition to
e-Citi, its businesses are Citibank, Commercial Credit, Primerica
Financial Services, Salomon Smith Barney, SSBC Asset Management Group,
Travelers Life & Annuity, and Travelers Property Casualty. For more
information, please visit citigroup.com. |
