America Online and Leading BanksAnnounce New Marketing Agreements
May 10, 1999 09:48 AM
DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 1999--
Bank of America, Citibank, Union Bank of California and Wells Fargo Extend Agreements to Offer Online Banking on AOL, CompuServe and Digital City
Bank One Signs New Agreement to Feature its Banking Services on AOL
The Associates and Quicken Mortgage to Head Up New AOL Loan Center
America Online Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, today announced multi-year pacts with five leading banks as part of the re-launch of its full-service Banking Center within the industry-leading AOL Personal Finance Channel.
These agreements will make Bank of America, Bank One, Citibank, Union Bank of California and Wells Fargo the premier banks available nationwide in AOL's Banking Center.
The Banking Center offers AOL members, CompuServe members and visitors to AOL's Digital City sites easy access to full-service banking online, including online management of checking and savings accounts, easy online transfers of funds between accounts, reviewing credit card information online and more. The Center, available at Keyword: bank, also features tools to help consumers find the best interest rates, nearby banks, credit reports and mortgage and loan information.
To help members choose the best online bank for them, the Banking Center features convenient links to bank reviews and profiles through bankrate.com and Gomez Advisors. For those looking for the online branch of their local bank, dozens of local and regional banks are also accessible through the Banking Center.
As part of the new AOL Banking Center, the Loan Center, available at Keyword: loan, features loan calculators from FinanceCenter, Inc, loan rate information from bankrate.com, and planning tools and mortgage information from Quicken Mortgage to help members educate themselves about loans and choose the best type of loan for them. The Center also offers direct access to online home equity loan applications and services from The Associates. Through the Loan Center, The Associates allows AOL members to complete loan applications online. The applications are immediately reviewed by specialists at The Associates, and AOL members then have the option of working with a loan specialist via telephone or online. The loans are closed at one of 1,902 Associates branches nationwide.
"As the mass market continues its move to cyberspace, online banking is potentially one of the most convenient and appealing functions we can offer in the personal finance space," said Jonathan Sacks, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the AOL service. "These agreements with some of the leading banks in the industry will help the banks offer their services to AOL's and CompuServe's combined membership of 19 million consumers, and will help AOL continue to give our members the convenience, ease of use and reliability they have come to expect from us."
Recent studies have also clearly found that online banking is poised to boom. Forrester Research found in a study of online banking conducted in early 1999 that 91% of private banks say the Internet impacts their business. Another recent study by Inteco Research projected that more than 24 million U.S. households will be banking online by 2003, up from ten and a half million today.
Myer Berlow, Senior Vice President of AOL Interactive Marketing, said, "With all indicators pointing to stellar growth in online banking, it's very gratifying that the biggest names in banking see the benefits of offering their services to AOL's, CompuServe's and Digital City's audiences. Major marketing agreements like these are a win for everyone: the banks reach the single largest online consumer market in the country, AOL offers our members the best online services available and our 19 million AOL and CompuServe members and visitors to Digital City can enjoy the convenience of banking online with some of the most well-known and established banks in the world."
About the AOL Personal Finance Channel
AOL's Personal Finance Channel offers a comprehensive suite of financial tools and information. The Personal Finance Channel enables members to research and trade stocks and mutual funds, conduct their online banking, get the most up-to-date business and market news, access detailed financial data, and chat with other members about market trends and financial information.
Approximately 5.7 million AOL members use the Channel to maintain over 10.4 million active investment portfolios, with over 11,000 new portfolios added every trading day. As the world's largest consumer quote service, AOL recently set a new record, distributing 135 million quotes in a single trading day, and AOL distributed approximately 2.2 billion quotes in the month of March. In addition, the Channel also generated over 19 million financial graphs for AOL members in March.
The Personal Finance Channel also offers access to financial information from popular sources such as Business Week, Intuit, Realtor.com, Bloomberg, Hoover's, MarketGuide, Zacks, Disclosure, Morningstar, Reuters, Investor's Business Daily, TheStreet.com, The Motley Fool and Sage.
About America Online
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services.
America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 17 million members, and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; and the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers. Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy.
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