REDMOND, Wash., May 8, 1996 — Microsoft Corp. announced today that 58 financial institutions have committed to offering online banking using Microsoft®
Money through a group of leading banking-software vendors and banking-processing companies.
“Clearly our strategies for helping banks deliver online-banking services to their customers have been well-received by the financial-services industry,”
said Lewis Levin, general manager of the desktop finance division at Microsoft.
“We are gratified and excited by such a widespread show of support.”
Microsoft first outlined its online-banking strategy at a March briefing for more than 200 bankers, banking-software vendors and banking processors. The strategy is based on providing banks choice and flexibility in building their online-banking offerings. The strategy enables banks to work with the solution providers of their choice or build in-house solutions to deliver services to customers via the Internet and Microsoft Money personal-finance software, the next version of which is scheduled to be available by late summer. The foundation for the strategy is the recently published Open Financial Connectivity (OFC) specification, a technical specification that supports the delivery of home-banking services to multiple home-banking software products and back-end solutions.
To further help banks build their online-banking services, Microsoft is readying software-component technology for performing secure, ATM-like transactions using popular World Wide Web browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape
™Navigator. These tools to facilitate browser-based banking are scheduled to be available by the end of the year. In addition, the Microsoft Windows NT®
Server network operating system includes embedded support for Internet publishing, helping facilitate an end-to-end Internet banking solution.
“Microsoft is committed to developing and deploying the core technologies that financial institutions will require to serve the coming wave of online customers,”
Levin said. Initiatives such as OFC and browser-based banking will let these institutions provide secure, branded services tailored to the needs of customers.
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Levin will discuss Microsoft’s continuing role in online banking at a May 9 presentation to the Faulkner and Gray-sponsored Home Banking Forum at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel in Dallas.
Financial institutions that have announced plans to deliver online services via Money are Bank of Boston, Bank of Hawaii, Bank of Stockton, BankAtlantic Bancorp, Barclay’s Bank, Barnett Bank, Bradesco, Branch Banking and Trust Co., Capitol Federal Savings, Centura Bank, Chase Bank, Colonial BancGroup, Columbus Bank and Trust Co., Commerce Bancshares Inc., Commercial Federal Corp., Compass Bank, Corestates, Crestar, Deposit Guaranty, First Chicago, First Federal Bank, First Hawaiian Bank, First Interstate, First Michigan, First National Bank (Fort Collins), First National Bank of Kansas, First National Bank of Omaha, First Technology, First Tennessee Bank, First Union Corp., Home Savings, Hong Kong Shanghai Bank, Laredo National Bank, M & T Bank, Marquette Bank, Mellon Bank Corp., Michigan National Bank, Mountain America Credit Union, Nevada State Bank, Old Kent Financial Corp., Pentagon Federal Credit Union, PNC Bank Corp., Provident Savings Bank, Providian Bancorp, Regions Financial Corp., Republic National Bank of New York, Sanwa, Signet Banking Corp., Smith Barney, Star Bank, Sumitomo Bank of California, Texas Commerce Bank, UMB Bank, Union Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo, West Coast Bank and Zions Bank.
The bank processors and banking-software vendors committed to building connectivity services to Microsoft Money include Braun, Simmons & Co.; CFI Proservices; Checkfree Corp.; Edify; M & I Data Services; Online Resources; Prologic Corp., ULTRADATA Corp.; Visa Interactive; and Intuit Services Corp. Several of these companies will also use Microsoft Windows NT Server as the foundation for their support of the OFC solution.
Microsoft Money makes the most common home-finance tasks easy. Its integrated services let users pay bills, balance checkbooks, transfer funds and investigate the status of their bank accounts. In very little time, Money users can manage their personal finances more quickly, conveniently and efficiently than ever before.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Netscape is a trademark of Netscape Communications Corp.
