REDMOND, Wash., March 27, 2000 — The award-winning MSN TM MoneyCentral TM online personal finance service at http://moneycentral.msn.com/ today announced a major redesign to its site, introducing several new tools, resources and services to help consumers research, make decisions about and take action on their finances. In addition to providing a complete one-stop resource to help consumers manage their money and make smarter financial decisions, MSN MoneyCentral is delivering on the MSN vision of the Everday Web by offering powerful customization tools that allow users to create and tailor a personal finance resource to their needs – any time, any place and from multiple devices.
Through the new version of MSN MoneyCentral, consumers can pay all their bills online, view their account balances and recent transactions, track their portfolio, view a calendar of initial public offerings, and make and track the performance of stock recommendations, as well as compete for prizes in stock competitions.
Enhancements to MSN MoneyCentral help consumers make the Web an integral part of their everyday lives. Personal finance is an activity that can be streamlined through working online. As such, MSN MoneyCentral has developed several new ways to make it even easier and more efficient for consumers to manage their finances.
“In today’s volatile economy, people can be overwhelmed by the speed at which events happen and information is made available to them,”
said Erik Jorgensen, product unit manager of MSN MoneyCentral.
“The enhancements made to MoneyCentral allow us to sift through the financial noise and provide quality information at the users’ fingertips to empower them to make smarter financial decisions.”
To better meet the needs of consumers, MoneyCentral has added the following features to ensure it is the everyday financial Web resource for both novice and savvy users:
-
My MoneyCentral is a customizable, personal financial control center that provides consumers with a quick, centralized location for accessing their financial data.
-
My Accounts is a consolidated view of account information that allows consumers to check account balances and transaction details for checking, savings and credit card accounts.
-
Bill Pay enables consumers to dispense with writing checks, buying stamps, licking envelopes and driving to the post office. MoneyCentral users can now pay all their bills online – any time, anywhere.
-
IPO Center
allows consumers to view the latest news, a calendar of upcoming offerings and new filings for future IPOs as well as performance and other statistics that can help an investor stay on top of investment opportunities. -
Real-time, Intraday Charts
complement the real-time quotes in MoneyCentral by helping frequent traders identify intraday trading patterns over one-, five- and 10-day periods. -
Stock Competition allows consumers to match investing wits with other members, make and track recommendations, and compete for prizes.
-
Member Pages allows users to create their own Member Page, where they can make recommendations, add their favorite community members, and view their recommendation activity as well as that of their favorite members.
-
Message Boards are now available for more than 8,000 stocks traded on the major exchanges. The Community Highlights area leads users to the most active boards, the most recommended stocks, and issues trading on unusually high volume.
-
Options Quotes allows investors interested in options to access option quotes the same way they do for stocks and mutual funds.
-
The Tax Center provides everything users need to prepare their taxes, including a wealth of educational material and tax-related news.
-
Insurance Planner provides consumers with a comprehensive evaluation of their auto, home, health and life insurance needs, and makes suggestions for areas where insurance coverage should be increased or decreased. Consumers can also receive competitive online quotes from leading insurance vendors.
MoneyCentral to Pay Bills for One Lucky User
Earlier this week, MSN MoneyCentral launched a national contest, called
“Money Madness,”
to help kick off its new and expanded version. As the grand prize of the Money Madness promotion, Microsoft Corp. will pay the winner’s bills for one year (up to $35,000). Consumers who sign up for a free trial period of MSN MoneyCentral Bill Pay at http://moneycentral.msn.com/ by April 30, 2000, can enter to win.*
About MSN MoneyCentral
MSN MoneyCentral, located at http://moneycentral.msn.com/ , is a complete online personal finance resource delivering leading financial tools and information in eight key areas: Investor, Saving & Spending, Banking & Bills, Family & College, Retirement & Wills, Taxes, Insurance, and Real Estate. The award-winning site offers consumers the ability to complete a wide range of everyday financial tasks, such as paying bills, tracking investments and staying informed on the latest financial news, in one convenient place online – any time, any place. MSN MoneyCentral helps enable people at all levels of experience to take control of and feel comfortable with their finances, helping them make smart financial decisions.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.
*No purchase or subscription necessary. Game ends April 30, 2000. Open to U.S. and Canadian residents 18 years or older at time of entry. For full rules, see http://ebills.moneycentral.msn.com/ .
Microsoft, MSN and MoneyCentral are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
