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To: rudedog who wrote (67685)	9/15/1999 6:02:00 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Respond to of 97611

Wednesday September 15, 5:32 pm Eastern Time - Banks prepare launch of e-commerce tools By Thomas Atkins MUNICH, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Identrus, a technology firm launched in April and backed by major international banks, on Wednesday said it was preparing to expand tests of its Internet commerce tools in October before a final launch by end-March. But a partner in the project, designed to cement banks' role in an expected boom in Internet-based business-to-business commerce, said in private that the project is not likely to be fully functional until the second quarter of 2000. Identrus' rush to the marketplace underscores efforts by banks to cement a role for themselves in the burgeoning world of electronic commerce, where business via the Internet will play a rising but risky role, industry experts say. With an explosion of business-to-business electronic commerce expected in coming years, comercial services offered by technology and telecommunications firms could render banks' services redundant. Identrus officials said their platform, which authenticates transactions with electronic certificates distributed via banks, would expand testing in October and be ready for distribution by the end of the first quarter of 2000. But a partner in the project said the tests will determine whether Identrus can hold to its product-launch schedule. ''It depends on the tests, whether it goes into production,'' he said. ''They're telling us that will be sometime in the second half.'' Identrus needed to move quickly to position itself for the expected rise in Internet commerce, CEO Guy Tallent told bankers and high-tech financial firms at a payments and settlements conference here. ''We should move that our customers start to use bank-issued digital certificates right away,'' he said. ''Banks, in fact the entire industry, must move quickly to ensure that banks' role in e-commerce is solidified.'' Internet commerce will outflank banks if they don't seize a role as a purveyor of trust, said Clay Epstein, the head of e- commerce technology at ANZ Banking Group. ''If this is not done quickly, the Internet will begin to break down the trust relationship that is hundreds of years old between customers and their banks,'' he said at the conference, sponsored by the interbank communications firm SWIFT. Industry experts are backing Identrus' bid to set the standards for e-commerce but warned that the firm will have to hustle to convince as many businesses and banks as possible to use its technology. ''That thing is only going to fly if they get a critical number of businesses to use it,'' said the Indentrus partner on the condition of anonymity. Computer firms are also rushing to position themselves should Identrus set the standard. Compaq Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news), the U.S.-based computer manufacturer, this week rolled out a series of alliances with smaller tech firms to make Compaq a one-stop-shop for anybody wishing to equip for e-commerce using Identrus. Banks backing the Identrus initiative include Deutsche Bank , Chase Manhattan Bank (NYSE:CMB - news), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - news), HypoVereinsbank , Citibank, Barclays (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BARC.L), NatWest (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: NWB.L) and Sanwa . MMMM More Quotes and News: Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC - news) Chase Manhattan Corp, The (NYSE:CMB - news) Compaq Computer Corp (NYSE:CPQ - news) Related News Categories: US Market News Help