REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 24, 2002 — Microsoft Corp. today launched MSN®
Money Plus, the exclusive personal finance channel on MSN 8, the innovative new version of MSN that delivers to consumers a comprehensive and useful set of software services. MSN Money Plus combines the award-winning content and tools from MSN Money with additional services that simplify money management.
Completely integrated with MSN 8, MSN Money Plus provides MSN 8 subscribers with automated tools and services, plus bill pay at no additional cost and account access to 3,500 financial institutions — all in one place. MSN Money Plus is included in MSN 8 Internet Access broadband and narrowband subscriptions and also is available as a separate subscription to consumers who use other ISPs.
“MSN Money Plus acts like a personal accountant, saving you time and effort by automatically organizing and analyzing your finances for you,”
said Chris Jolley, director of product management for the Financial Products Group at Microsoft.
“The new service delivers on the MSN 8 commitment to provide a better Internet experience, offering the quickest, easiest way to manage finances on the go — at home, at work or anywhere in between.”
Building on the award-winning MSN Money site’s capabilities, MSN Money Plus automatically aggregates, organizes and analyzes consumers’ financial accounts to help them easily see where their money is going. Among the exclusive tools and services of MSN Money Plus are the following:
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The dashboard allows consumers to see their important financial information, including alerts, top budget categories, stock quotes and account balances, at all times as they surf the Web.
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Online bill pay is available with nearly 950 merchants online for no additional cost to MSN 8 subscribers, along with automatic payment setup.
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Comprehensive bill management enables consumers to track all of their bills (online and offline) in one place, and to see paid and upcoming bills at a glance.
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More account coverage enables consumers to access 3,500 financial institutions through both Open Financial Exchange and Yodlee Inc. feeds.
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Spending Analysis automatically analyzes consumers’ transactions and generates easy-to-read charts to help them quickly see where their money goes.
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Budget Tracker helps consumers easily set up a realistic budget based on their spending history. The Tracker then automatically monitors actual spending vs. the budget and alerts consumers when they go over in a category.
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More storage lets consumers save up to 18 months of their account details.
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Multiuser access enables family members to share access to their MSN Money Plus data, while retaining separate e-mail addresses, MSN Messenger contact lists, etc.
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Offline access allows consumers to view and analyze their account information, even when they are not connected to the Web.
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Tax Export automatically consolidates relevant banking and brokerage account data in one place, and then allows for quick and easy export into tax preparation software or Microsoft®
Excel.
About MSN
MSN has 9 million subscriptions and attracts more than 300 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 34 markets and 18 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers and digital marketing solutions to businesses worldwide. The most useful and innovative online service today, MSN brings consumers everything they need from the Web to make the most of their time online. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/ . MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies 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.
Microsoft and MSN 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.
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