ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Aug. 29, 2000 — TransPoint LLC today announced that customers of Sallie Mae can begin receiving and paying e-bills online today with the TransPoint™
online bill payment service. The service will be available to customers of Puget Sound Energy, Cellular One of San Francisco and Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. by Sept. 15, 2000. In addition, Detroit Edison will begin offering the service to its residential and small-business customers in early 2001. These companies have a combined total of more than 8 million customers who are currently able, or soon will be able, to receive and pay their bills online through TransPoint.
“Offering online payment of student loan bills is an example of Sallie Mae’s commitment to providing our borrowers with superior customer service,”
said Joseph Bailey, vice president of servicing at Sallie Mae.
“With the ease and convenience of using the service, the interactive bill features, full bill detail, and presetting and archiving options, TransPoint’s online bill payment service will simplify the bill-paying experience for our borrowers.”
Consumers with Internet access can now pay all their bills with a few clicks of a mouse. Through TransPoint’s convenient online payment service, consumers can view and pay bills that arrive electronically through TransPoint, pay bills online that arrive in the U.S. mail, and initiate a payment online to anyone else with a U.S. mailing address. Customers can check the status of their TransPoint online payment account via their computer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If more help is needed, TransPoint includes Web-based customer support and a fully staffed customer-service team.
“As more leading companies such as Sallie Mae and Puget Sound Energy realize the benefits of e-billing and implement electronic bill presentment and payment services, EBPP will grow at a rapid pace,”
said Lewis Levin, president and CEO of TransPoint.
Companies that deliver bills electronically through TransPoint benefit from targeted marketing, greater control over the billing process and personalized customer care. In addition, the costs of customer inquiries are dramatically reduced with e-billing, because much of the user interface offers self-help options.
“The TransPoint e-bills service helps us make our customers’ lives easier,”
said Penny Gullekson, Puget Sound Energy vice president of customer service.
“Offering customers a convenient and secure way to pay their energy bills greatly enhances our relationship with them and has the potential to further cement customer loyalty.”
According to many industry watchers, online bill paying is ready for a significant growth spurt. GartnerGroup, a Stamford, Conn.-based research firm, predicts that 15 million U.S. households will pay bills online by 2003, compared to 4 million today.
Currently, the TransPoint e-bills service is available to consumers through the MSN MoneyCentral online personal finance service ( http://www.moneycentral.msn.com/ ), TransPoint ( http://www.transpoint.com/ ), Prodigy Internet service ( http://www.prodigy.com/ ), the Go2Net Network ( http://www.go2net.com/ ), Compass Bank ( http://www.compassweb.com/ ) and InterWest Bank ( http://www.interwestbank.com/ ).
About TransPoint
TransPoint, established in June 1997, is a joint venture of Microsoft Corp. and First Data Corp., with Citibank as a minority equity investor. Englewood, Colo.-based TransPoint is a leader in the emerging electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) industry with a seamless e-bills service built from the ground up. The TransPoint system uses innovative technology and integrates easily with billers’ and banks’ existing payment systems. The TransPoint service is designed to be the fast, easy way for consumers with Internet access to make all their payments online from a single, secure Web site. Consumers can pay their bills at multiple Internet locations, including MSN MoneyCentral, the TransPoint Web site, Prodigy Internet service, the Go2Net Network, and the Web sites of participating financial institutions.
On Feb. 15, TransPoint entered into a definitive merger agreement with CheckFree Corp., a leader in electronic billing and payment. The combined technologies and relationships of the two entities are expected to accelerate migration of the billing and payment process from paper to the Internet, and to advance the rate at which consumers sign up for electronic billing. The transaction will be accounted for as a purchase by CheckFree. More information about TransPoint is available at http://www.transpoint.com/ .
TransPoint is an exclusive U.S. trademark of TransPoint LLC. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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