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Technology Stocks : CheckFree Holdings Corp. (CKFR), the next Dell, Intel? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tracy Principio who wrote (3698)	3/13/1999 5:26:00 PM
From: Sam Biller	Respond to of 20297

>>>As I'm sure we'd all agree, more and more people will be paying bills electronically as time goes on.<<< Agreed! >>>However, I'm concerned whether CheckFree will be the means by which this occurs. Using myself as an example, I receive 8 bills on a monthly basis. Five of these bills are paid, by what I call, EFT (routing and transit numbers taken from a voided check).<<< I assume these bills are directly debited from your checking account by the biller and you do not have control over the date of the debit. >>>The remained 3 bills are paid using a CheckFree-like service provided by my credit union called Bill Payer. Two years ago, I paid all my bills using Bill Payer. I'd be willing to bet that within the next 2 years, I won't be using Bill Payer at all.<<< I bet that in two years you will be receiving more e-bills then you think. The e-billers would love to have everyone utilize the direct debit model. For example, MCI offers it but also offers CheckFree e-bill. In fact, the direct debit model has been around for a lot of years and unfortunately, the billers can't get a large percentage of their customers to use it. I think this is due to a number of reasons: 1) A lot of people live "paycheck to paycheck" and need to have the control to decide when to pay a bill. 2) People don't trust the billers with their checking account information. 3) People don't want the hassle that comes with changing a checking account and having the direct debits bounce. Think about it, if you have 10 bills a month all being direct debited to your credit union checking account and you relocate. Lets assume your credit union is not convenient to your new location so you decide to switch banks. Now, you have to contact each of the biller individually to change your checking account routing information. With the CheckFree E-Bill scenario, you just go online and change the information in One place. Its a fact that this is much more convenient. >>>Since I do own shares of CheckFree, I'm more than a little concerned by this trend. Comments?<<< I'm not really too concerned because EBPP is more convenient for the consumer then the direct debit model. IMHO, the consolidator model will win out, and CheckFree will be the ultimate beneficiary. Quoting a SalamonSmithBarney report (they rate CF a hold), As we've stated repeatedly, we strongly believe that Internet billing will be very popular and that CKFR is the vendor best positioned to profit from the delivery of the Internet billing service. Until now the business model has relied upon the banks to offer and market an Internet banking platform that provides Internet business. And our frustration, which we believe echoes the company's frustration, and the primary reason we've maintained a hold on the stock, is that the banks have dragged their feet on internet banking. The portal distribution agreement offers the first credible possibility of an end-run around the banks for Internet Billing.

To: Tracy Principio who wrote (3698)	3/13/1999 6:59:00 PM
From: Benny Baga	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 20297

>>>Five of these bills are paid, by what I call, EFT (routing and transit numbers taken from a voided check). How many bills do you receive electronically?

To: Tracy Principio who wrote (3698)	3/15/1999 9:49:00 AM
From: jjbucci	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20297

Tracy, One point that you seem to be missing, even if you use "EFT". You must still receive a Bill telling you how much you have paid, Electronic billing saves the Billing Entity a small fortune over conventional snail mail. Now, even with electronic billing, your electronic bills must be organized for you. Receiving your bills in a consolidated fashion will be much easier, allowing you to pay other (non eft) bills at the same time, and will aid you in your record keeping chores. This will also enable you to "troubleshoot" any payment problems much easier. It's a win-win situation for the consumer, the biller and the consolidator. jjbucci