is ckfr behind this one?
Internet Banking Comes to Hibernia
hiberniabank.com
Clients Can Pay Bills the Stampless Way With New Feature
NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 22, 1999--More than 6,800 people in Louisiana and east Texas have signed up for Hibernia National Bank's (NYSE: HIB - news) online banking service during its first eight weeks of operation, reports Thad Hymel, the bank's manager of Web-based solutions.
''The response has been excellent,'' Hymel said. ''Obviously, our clients are ready for Internet banking.''
The service -- called Bank Online @ Hibernia.com -- allows customers to set their own banking hours, manage their accounts from any desktop or portable computer with Internet access and pay bills without stamps or envelopes. Online banking became available April 22 to all personal-banking customers, and the bill-payment feature was added in June.
''Customers can pay bills and manage their accounts anywhere, whether at home or on a business trip, as long as they have access to the Internet,'' Hymel said.
Bank Online @ Hibernia.com allows customers to check balances for deposit and loan accounts, transfer funds, stop payments, reorder checks and more.
The electronic bill-payment feature speeds the process, eliminates the need for envelopes and stamps, avoids late payment fees and provides a permanent record of transactions.
''In effect, clients can write checks on their computer and schedule payment as much as a year in advance,'' Hymel continued. ''It's particularly good for recurring bills, like rent, car, day-care or mortgage payments, which can be automatically paid each month.''
Once the payment is scheduled, Hibernia will either print and mail a check to the payee or transfer funds electronically. ''Since many larger companies have computer systems that send and receive funds electronically, bill payment can be done very quickly,'' Hymel explained.
And, Hibernia has a bill-pay guarantee. If an online bill payment is scheduled at least five business days before the due date, and a late fee or penalty occurs because the funds did not arrive on time, Hibernia will reimburse late fees up to $50.
To make it easier and more flexible for customers to use, the system automatically links and ''speaks'' to, or interfaces with, the latest versions of Quicken and Microsoft Money, the most popular personal-finance software on the market, Hymel said. Those software applications allow users to keep track of bills, account balances and other financial information.
The safety of sensitive financial information transmitted over the Internet has been a primary concern for Hibernia. ''But, we're now satisfied with the technology to provide secure transactions,'' Hymel said. ''Plus, our online banking system's security measures are stronger than those currently required under federal banking law.''
The system, developed in partnership with Corillian Corporation and TransLink Software, allows customers to conduct real-time financial transactions. It is built on the nationally recognized Open Financial Exchange (OFX) platform, a system that allows safe Internet exchange of financial data and transactions between banks and other financial institutions, businesses and consumers. The OFX system was designed by industry leaders Microsoft, Intuit and CheckFree, Hymel said.
Access to accounts is provided at no cost. The bill-payment feature has a three-month free trial period, then a monthly fee of $4.95 for up to 20 bill payments.
Customers can sign up online at Hibernia's Web site at hibernia.com or call 1-877-HIBERNIA (877/442-3764) toll-free. Those who are not customers can apply for an account online.
Hibernia is a $14.7-billion-asset organization with 252 banking locations in 33 Louisiana parishes and 13 Texas counties. It is either first, second or third in deposit share in 31 Louisiana parishes and six Texas counties. Hibernia's Louisiana markets represent approximately 80% of the state's population and 84% of its deposits. Its Louisiana deposit share is 21.5%.
The company's common stock (HIB) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Hibernia news releases, product-and-service information and other useful data can be accessed through the company's Internet site at hibernia.com. The company's previous address, hiberniabank.com, is still operational. Requests for information about Hibernia products and services can be e-mailed to mailus@hibernia.com.
Corillian Corporation, based in Beaverton, Ore., is the leading provider of end-to-end Internet banking solutions that enable financial institutions to deliver services online. Their Voyager platform is built on the Windows NT operating system and uses the latest Microsoft communications technology, Distributed COM (DCOM). Voyager server applications support core banking and bill payment transactions. Future applications will support brokerage, bill presentment, small-business and cash-management transactions. Voyager handles transactions for Corillian's customizable browser-based (HTML) financial interface, Corillian's MoneyPAD Personal Finance Appliance (PFA), and OFX-enabled personal financial managers like Quicken and Microsoft Money. For more information, visit corillian.com.
TransLink Software, based in Bellevue, Wash., is a leading provider of turnkey server solutions for extending corporations' enterprise mainframe applications through multiple synchronized delivery channels. TransLink solutions uniquely bridge the Internet/intranet/extranet environments with managed real-time enterprise data, transactions and applications to provide for seamless internal as well as external business automation and to enable electronic commerce at all levels. For more information, visit txlink.com.
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