Same story, different spin:
Electronic Commerce/ Banc One Taking the Plunge Into
Internet Presentment
American Banker via NewsEdge Corporation : Banc One
Corp. has become the first member of the Integrion
home banking consortium to say it will take advantage
of newly available bill presentment capabilities.
The Columbus, Ohio, banking company said it will
combine electronic bill presentment with other offerings
to create a pioneering and fully integrated
Internet-based service package.
The early move is characteristic of Banc One, an
enthusiastic supporter of Integrion Financial Network,
which has 19 owners and has been closely associated
with International Business Machines.
Banc One has also moved aggressively toward
electronic bill presentment. Still in the formative stages
and shaping up as a strategic battleground for banks
and system providers, the technology will allow
consumers to receive, review, and pay bills over the
Internet.
Banc One has not only signed on for Integrion's bill
presentment system, which is based on technology
provided by Checkfree Corp. of Atlanta. The bank is
also one of four financial institutions in the pilot group
of MSFDC, the competing joint venture of Microsoft
Corp. and First Data Corp.
MSFDC announced last week that Merrill Lynch & Co.
had become the first brokerage firm to say it will pilot
the system this year.
Bruce Luecke, Banc One's president of interactive
delivery services, said it views its involvement with
MSFDC as a test separate from Integrion.
"I would consider this (Integrion) the real way that we
will do it," Mr. Luecke said last week.
Checkfree, the leading bill payment processor that
entered into a formal alliance with Integrion last year,
will establish relationships with billers and provide the
technical backbone for the Integrion presentment
service.
Integrion, meanwhile, will integrate bill presentment into
its broader package of electronic services.
Mr. Luecke said Banc One's interest is in "deepening
the relationships we have with our customers by
continually providing innovative and superior service.
... We will deliver an unparalleled level of choice and
flexibility in on-line banking and bill payment."
"No matter who originates the bill-Checkfree, the biller,
or MSFDC-it will flow into Integrion's system so that we
can present the consumer with a common interface," he
added.
"If we are going to service our retail customers in the
best way, we have to accept the bill from whomever,"
Mr. Luecke said, while customers will "never really
know who is the middleman presenting the bill."
Banc One and NationsBank were the first to say they
would use Integrion's Interactive Financial Services
system. The Ohio company's bill presentment intentions
may give two-year-old Integrion another boost. Other
Integrion member- owners include Banc One merger
partner First Chicago NBD Corp., NationsBank partner
BankAmerica Corp., Citicorp, Fleet Financial Group,
PNC Bank Corp., Royal Bank of Canada, and Visa
International.
The desired "seamless" linkage with MSFDC will
require technical differences to be overcome, perhaps
similar to the way Integrion's data interchange standard,
Gold, is being reconciled with the OFX approach
endorsed by Checkfree, Intuit Inc., and Microsoft Corp.
"In our discussions with Checkfree and MSFDC we
have said, 'You are going to have to figure this out,
because I am not going to spend a lot of time doing
different things. If you want to work with us, work it
out,"' Mr. Luecke said.
"The only way Internet-based banking will gain
widespread acceptance is with the continual
development of integrated Internet-based financial
services that give consumers easy access to multiple
transactions," said William M. Fenimore, chief executive
officer of Integrion.
He said its bill presentment announcement "signals the
beginning of a marketplace for truly integrated on-line
financial services."
Checkfree, meanwhile, will continue to offer E-bill, its
own electronic bill presentment service, to financial
institutions such as Chase Manhattan Corp. that are not
Integrion participants. Checkfree said it has
relationships with 23 major billers and has been
providing services to Banc One since 1991.
Checkfree chairman and chief executive officer Peter J.
Kight said Banc One's vote for the Integrion-Checkfree
package "clearly marks a new era of sophisticated
on-line financial services being offered to consumers
through the trusted agent-their bank." He called Banc
One "a driving force behind the rapid expansion of
on-line financial management."
Mr. Fenimore also emphasized the "bank-branded"
philosophy that he said Integrion and Checkfree share.
It allows a bank to "customize the look and feel of its bill
presentment service."
They said a Banc One customer with any standard
Internet browser will get "single log-on" convenience
for enrollment in and activation of electronic financial
services. Bills will be payable from an on-line summary
page or by clicking to pages with complete bill details.
Customization is also a selling point at MSFDC, which
is working with 11 billers and now five pilot institutions:
Integrion members Banc One, KeyCorp, and Norwest
Corp., plus Wells Fargo & Co. and Merrill Lynch.
Merrill said it intends to tailor MSFDC's system for its
Merrill Lynch OnLine clients, enhancing an existing bill
payment service.
"MSFDC has found innovative ways to enhance the
relationships between financial institutions and their
clients, and we look forward to working with them," said
Allen Jones, senior vice president and director of
private client marketing for Merrill Lynch. Copyright c
1998 American Banker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
