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Technology Stocks : CheckFree (CKFR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Benny Baga who wrote (7608)	9/16/1998 6:36:00 PM
From: Rob C.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 8545

The whole story.... In Sept. 14 Seattle story "Citibank takes stake in online billing venture", please omit reference to CheckFree in paragraph 13. (Correcting to show CheckFree does not favor "distribution" model.) A corrected version follows.) By Martin Wolk SEATTLE, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Citibank, the nation's second-biggest bank, said Monday it will buy a stake in Microsoft Corp.'s <MSFT.O> online bill-paying venture, boosting the software giant's electronic commerce ambitions. Officials of Citibank, a unit of Citicorp <CCI.N>, declined to say how much they had invested, other than to say it was a "significant amount," for less than one-third of the TransPoint venture, formerly known as MSFDC. Microsoft and First Data Corp. <FDC.N>, which formerly held 50 percent each of the venture, continue to hold equal stakes of more than one-third each. As part of the agreement, Citibank will provide TransPoint with access to its "pay anyone" capability, which allows consumers to make bill payments online regardless of whether the bill is presented electronically. In return Citibank will play a role in TransPoint, based in Englewood, Colo., which plans to launch its Internet bill presentment and payment late this year in several major metropolitan areas. Eventually consumers are expected to flock to online bill payment as an inexpensive, convenient alternative to writing checks and paying by mail, although analysts caution that it will be several years before most billers support the option. In the meantime, Citibank has supported several approaches to online bill-paying, analysts said. "Citibank has always hedged their bets, and they are hedging their bets again," said Bill Doyle, director of Forrester Research's money and technology service. Just last month Citicorp agreed to become an "anchor tenant" on the finance site of Microsoft rival Netscape Communications Corp. <NSCP.O>, opening a new avenue to develop online banking business. And Citibank is among about 18 financial institutions belonging to Integrion, a consortium on banking technology that is allied with International Business Machines Corp. <IBM.N> and TransPoint rival CheckFree Corp. <CKFR.O>. "They're playing these guys against one another, and that's very smart," said Doyle. Ed Horowitz, corporate executive vice president at Citibank, said the bank believes TransPoint had created the best model for bill "aggregation," under which a consumer will be able to go to a single Web site, such as a bank site, to view and pay multiple bills. Others favor a "distribution" model, under which electronic bills will be funneled individually to consumers. Banks long have been wary of Microsoft's designs on their business, and some analysts said Citibank's move could spur other banks to form alliances with TransPoint, if for no other reason than to stay apprised of the potential business threat. Lewis Levin, vice president of desktop finance at Microsoft, said officials are "certainly open-minded" about the possibility of more financial institutions investing in TransPoint. REUTERS Rtr 18:02 09-16-98 Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service c 1997 DLJdirect. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c 1997 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. or such other notice as may be agreed by the parties in writing.