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| CheckFree Supports ACH Globalization with PEP+ Software Platform |
- PEP+ Processing Platform Enhanced to Allow Users To Access Federal
Reserve's International Services -
ATLANTA and ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AFP Annual
Conference Booth #101 -- CheckFree ACH Solutions, a business unit of CheckFree
Corporation (Nasdaq: CKFR), today announced it has successfully developed and
implemented enhancements to its PEP+ system, the premier Automated
Clearinghouse (ACH) processing platform among leading financial institutions,
that will allow financial institutions to originate and receive international
payments through the Federal Reserve's new international services.
Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve announced that it would support the
origination and receipt of credit items between the United States and select
European countries beginning November 3, 2003. The Federal Reserve's service,
called the Transatlantic LPI (Limited Production Implementation), will enable
ACH transactions to be processed between U.S. banks and financial institutions
in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. A
similar service is currently planned for late 2004 that will enable payments
to be processed to and from Mexico. By implementing this solution, account
holders at banks that use this enhancement will be able to originate and
receive credit transactions with countries that are participating in the
Transatlantic LPI. This process will play an increasing role as businesses
and consumers look for more economic and efficient means to pay for goods and
services overseas.
"The Federal Reserve strongly supports the concept of expanding cross
border retail payments services through the ACH network," stated Rich Oliver,
retail payments product manager for the Federal Reserve. "We deeply appreciate
the leadership of vendors, such as CheckFree, in helping to achieve this
vision."
"The Federal Reserve has done an excellent job of anticipating the needs
of payment systems participants," adds Denny Oswalt, senior vice president and
general manager of CheckFree's ACH Solutions business unit. "Previously, wire
transfer was the primary means for making international payments and proved
costly for many types of transactions. Working with representatives of the
Federal Reserve Bank, CheckFree has enabled various stakeholders to benefit
from a new effective and efficient means for paying international trading
partners."
About CheckFree (http://www.checkfreecorp.com)
CheckFree (NASDAQ: CKFR) is the leading provider of financial electronic
commerce services and products. Founded in 1981 and celebrating its 23rd year
in e-commerce, CheckFree is comprised of three divisions: Electronic Commerce,
Software, and Investment Services. CheckFree launched the first fully
integrated electronic billing and payment solution in 1997. In the quarter
ended September 30, 2003, more than 11 million consumers initiated online
payments through services offered by CheckFree's Electronic Commerce division.
Electronic billing and payment is available through more than a thousand
financial services organizations, including banks, brokerage firms, Internet
portals and personal financial management (PFM) software. At these sites,
consumers are able to electronically receive and pay about 300 bills,
representing the bills most common to a U.S. household. CheckFree delivers
nearly 15 million e-bills each quarter. CheckFree Investment Services provides
a broad range of investment management services to thousands of financial
institutions nationwide. The division's clients manage more than 1.3 million
portfolios totaling more than $700 billion in assets.
CheckFree's Software division provides solutions through three operating
units: CheckFree ACH Solutions, CheckFree Financial and Compliance Solutions
(CFACS), and CheckFree i-Solutions. CheckFree ACH Solutions provides software
and services that are used to process more than two-thirds of the nation's
nine billion Automated Clearing House payments, while CFACS provides
reconciliation and compliance software and services to more than 500
organizations in the banking, brokerage, utility, retail, insurance and credit
card industries, among others. CheckFree i-Solutions is the leading provider
of e-billing and e-statement software and services for both business-to-
consumer and business-to-business applications, with more billers as clients
than all of its competitors have combined.
Certain of the Company's statements in this press release are not purely
historical, and as such are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements
regarding management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or projections
of the future. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties,
including without limitation, the various risks inherent in the Company's
business, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the
Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including Company's Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2003 (filed
September 15, 2003) and Form 8-K (filed October 21, 2003). There can be no
assurance that the forward-looking statements made in this document will prove
to be accurate, and issuance of such forward-looking statements should not be
regarded as a representation by the Company, or any other person, that the
objectives and plans of the Company will be achieved. All forward-looking
statements made in this press release are based on information presently
available to management, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements.
SOURCE CheckFree Corporation
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CONTACT:
Media, Judy DeRango Wicks, +1-678-375-1595,
or jdwicks@checkfree.com, or Investors, Tina Moore,
+1-678-375-1278, or tmoore@checkfree.com, both of CheckFree
