SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 1999--Adding to
its existing array of innovative online financial services, Yahoo!
Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO.O), a leading global Internet media company serving
105 million users worldwide, today announced the launch of Yahoo!(R)
E-Bills, a service that allows registered Yahoo! users to receive and
view their bills online.
Yahoo! users currently using Yahoo! Bill Pay
(http://bills.yahoo.com) to pay their bills electronically can now
also have their bills delivered to them, further simplifying and
streamlining the way in which they manage their online finances. This
enhancement is an extension of the ease and convenience provided by
Yahoo! Bill Pay which is accessible through Yahoo! Finance
(http://finance.yahoo.com), one of the Web's leading finance sites,
and My Yahoo! (http://my.yahoo.com), the popular personalizable
version of Yahoo!. Yahoo! E-Bills is free to all current and future
Yahoo! Bill Pay users.
Through an expanded relationship with CheckFree (Nasdaq:CKFR.O),
Yahoo! E-Bills enables 37 CheckFree E-Billers in the U.S. to
electronically deliver individuals' bills to their Yahoo! Bill Pay
account. Once Yahoo! users sign in to Yahoo! Bill Pay, they need only
to click "Payee List" to begin choosing from the available E-Billers
and activating the service. Users can choose from the list of current
E-Billers to set up their accounts. It takes approximately one month
for E-Billers to begin the electronic delivery of users' bills.
"Yahoo! E-Bills is part of our ongoing commitment to make online
personal financial management even easier for our users, and we are
very pleased to announce the availability of this new service," said
Yahoo!'s Tim Brady, senior vice president, network services. "Giving
our users the ability to go to one online location to have all of
their financial needs met -- from receiving stock quotes and managing
their portfolios to reading news about specific stocks and viewing and
paying bills online -- is something we are dedicated to doing. Yahoo!
E-Bills is another step towards making Yahoo! the only place anybody
has to go to find information, connect to anyone, or buy anything."
"With Jupiter Research forecasting the number of households using
online bill-paying services growing to 18 million by 2003, CheckFree
is extremely glad to be working with Yahoo! as more and more consumers
adopt the practice of managing their finances online," said Pete
Kight, chairman and CEO of CheckFree. "CheckFree's strategy is to
facilitate the electronic delivery and payment of bills, as well as
other electronic payments, at whatever site the consumer chooses,
including Yahoo! Finance and My Yahoo!."
How to Get Started
Whether consumers are already paying bills with Yahoo! Bill Pay,
another provider, or directly through their bank, signing up for
Yahoo! E-Bills is easy. Individuals not yet signed up for Yahoo! Bill
Pay can begin enjoying the benefits of online bill payment by going to
bills.yahoo.com to register for the service, as well as get a
Yahoo! Security Key. (Introduced earlier this year, the Yahoo!
Security Key is similar to a personal access code, or PIN, and using
it protects information by using only secure network connections.)
Current Yahoo! Bill Pay users need only log into Yahoo! Bill Pay and
click "Payee List" to begin choosing from the available E-Billers and
activating the service.
Safe, Secure, and Guaranteed
Yahoo! and CheckFree both employ the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
security standard that is widely used by popular Internet browsers and
merchants transacting on the Web. During transmission over the Web,
SSL encrypts data to protect it from being read by anyone other than
the intended recipient. Yahoo! also has taken steps to provide
additional security on its site in order to protect the user with the
Yahoo! Security Key. Users will be prompted to verify their Yahoo!
Security Key each time they sign in to Yahoo!Bill Pay. Verification
of the Yahoo! Security Key, as well as any display of personal account
information, is always done over a secure connection. All financial
transactions will be conducted on the CheckFree Web site.
To ensure safe and reliable receipt of bills and payments, all
transactions are backed by the CheckFree Guarantee, a program that
protects against unauthorized transactions or processing delays.
Similar to credit card usage, users that suspect fraudulent activity
need only to notify CheckFree within two days of when they suspect an
unauthorized transaction. Their liability is then limited to no more
than $50.00. CheckFree also assumes responsibility for any
late-payment-related charges (up to $50.00 per transaction), in the
event that a payment, scheduled in accordance with the terms and
conditions, arrives late. More information about the CheckFree
Guarantee and full terms and conditions are available at
checkfree.com.
Pricing and Billing
All Yahoo! users are eligible to sign up for a free three-month
trial of Yahoo! Bill Pay. During the free trial period, users who want
to continue to enjoy the convenience of online bill payment and
delivery after their free three months can choose from two different
payment plans. The first option is $2.00 per month, plus $0.40 per
payment for an unlimited number of payments per month. The second
option is $7.00 per month for up to 25 payments, plus $0.40 for each
additional payment over 25. To pay for this premium service, CheckFree
will automatically debit the bank account from which users' Yahoo!
Bill Pay payments are made. The Yahoo! Bill Pay fee appears on
individuals' bank statements as a bill payment fee.
Yahoo! Bill Pay gives Yahoo! users ultimate flexibility when it
comes to receiving and paying bills online, allowing users to pay
bills not only to established companies, but also to individuals,
including landlords, family members and friends. In addition to making
payments of differing amounts every month, users can also schedule
fixed recurring payments, such as car or mortgage payments. Yahoo!
Bill Pay also affords users the ability to schedule single payments,
such as car registration or tuition fees, up to one year in advance.
Allowing users to manage their online finances in one central
location, Yahoo! Bill Pay is accessible through Yahoo! Finance and My
Yahoo!.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO.O) is a global Internet media company
that offers a branded network of media, commerce, and communication
services to more than 100 million users worldwide. As the first online
navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in
terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach, and
is one of the most recognized brands associated with the Internet. The
company also provides online business services designed to enhance
Yahoo!'s clients' Web services, including audio and video streaming,
store hosting and management, and Web site tools and services. The
company's global Web network includes 21 World properties. Yahoo! has
offices in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Canada and the
United States, and is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.
Note to Editors: Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are registered
trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or
registered trademarks of their respective owners.
--30--ari/sf* ba/sf
CONTACT: Yahoo! Inc.
Shannon Stubo, 408/530-5144
sstubo@yahoo-inc.com
or
CheckFree
Judy Morris, 678/375-1595
jdmorris@checkfree.com
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL EUROPE ASIA PACIFIC LATIN
AMERICA CANADA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: INTERNET BANKING MARKETING AGREEMENT PRODUCT
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