ATLANTA and LONDON, April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CheckFree Software,
a division of CheckFree Corporation (Nasdaq: CKFR), today announced that Siam
Commercial Bank (SCB) has selected CheckFree i-Series to deliver Thailand's
first bank-hosted, business-to-business electronic invoicing and payment (EIP)
service based on an industry-leading electronic invoicing solution. A high
profile project within the country, SCB is the first bank in the country to
offer an e-billing service that is specifically focused on the business
community, starting with the bank's own corporate customers The service sits
at the core of SCB's business strategy to increase its competitive edge,
enhance customer satisfaction, attract new customers and accommodate the
demands of its top-tier customers that want to switch to Internet-based
invoicing.
When SCB decided to replace its in-house built e-invoicing system last
year, the bank undertook an extensive evaluation process to choose a supplier
that could provide global support and has a track record of developing
complex, business-to-business EIP sites. CheckFree was selected on the basis
of its international reputation, the flexibility of the CheckFree i-Series
software and the financial strength of the Company.
Charamporn Jotikasthira, SCB executive vice president of Business Cash
Management Group commented: "Due to a growing customer demand for more
advanced features, we needed world class software with the superior execution
capabilities that would enable us to support Electronic Presentment and
Payment (ePP). This is a strategic service we have launched to serve our B2B
customers, enhance cash management, increase our market competitiveness and
customer satisfaction, all in fulfillment of our mission statement to be our
region's bank of choice."
Natruedi Punyaratabandhu, project manager at the Business Cash Management
Group of SCB said: "As a bank, supporting a hosted e-billing system was not a
core competency and maintaining our in-house platform was not an efficient use
of our resources. With each new invoicer added to the system, we would need to
build a custom, costly application from the ground up. The flexibility of the
CheckFree i-Series platform enables SCB to rapidly add new corporates to the
service, a primary decision factor for SCB in choosing its new technology
partner. In addition, CheckFree's domain expertise will give us the speed,
security and stability to bring our new, corporate banking service to market
quickly."
One of the drivers in SCB's decision to launch a business-based service
was the growing demand for the type of support tools that only electronically
based billing services can provide. These include single Internet banking
sign-on, multiple file format downloads, invoice queries and dispute handling,
flexible payment options, data analysis, customised reporting, account
hierarchies, split billing and further payment functionality to support cash
management and customer account management processes. In fact, a key
attraction of CheckFree i-Series was the advanced features of its Payment
Warehouse, a data repository that provides the bank or invoicers with a
consolidated record of customer payments, including the type of payment (one
time, recurrent, split payment), the payment instrument (direct debit, credit
card, etc.) and whether or not many payments were made from a single account,
or single payments came from multiple accounts, and so on.
SCB's new e-invoicing service is expected to go live in April 2005. The
first wave of billers to sign up for the service includes a large construction
company, automobile manufacturer and telecommunications provider. Ultimately
SCB is focusing on the invoice servicing needs of the top 100 corporates in
Thailand. The next step is to invite the bank's own 5,000 corporate Internet
banking customers to view and pay their invoices online, and then to expand
outwards to sign on new corporate subscribers. SCB also plans to extend the
service to its own consumer-based (B2C) customers at a future date.
Says Randy McCoy, executive vice president and general manager of
CheckFree Software: "SCB is already one of Asia Pacific's foremost commercial
banks and therefore a highly trusted payment services provider. In building a
reputation as a leading B2B biller service provider, SCB is positioning itself
as a value-added facilitator and strategic link between invoicers and payers
within the overall supply chain community. This business strategy is
visionary and ambitious, and CheckFree looks forward to assisting the company
in delivering future success."
About Siam Commercial Bank
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the first Thai bank, was established in 1906.
Today it serves customers in all segments in the Thailand's financial market
and ranks one of the top four by market capitalization among Thai financial
institutions. SCB has always maintained a leading stance as pioneer and leader
in banking technology in order to provide the best services responding to
customer's needs. It was the first bank to introduce ATM, Internet Banking and
Mobile Banking in Thailand. Currently, its service network is one of the
largest among financial institutions with 562 branches, 41 Business Centers,
93 FX kiosk and more than 2,000 ATMs nationwide. SCB has announced record net
profit of Baht 18.4 billion for 2004's operation, the highest among Thai
banks. It aims to be 'the Leading Universal Bank in Thailand.'
About CheckFree ( http://www.checkfreecorp.com )
Founded in 1981, CheckFree Corporation (Nasdaq: CKFR) provides financial
electronic commerce services and products to organizations around the world.
CheckFree Electronic Commerce solutions enable thousands of financial services
providers and billers to offer their customers the convenience of receiving
and paying their household bills online or in person through retail outlets.
CheckFree Investment Services provides a broad range of investment management
solutions and outsourced services to thousands of financial services
organizations, which manage more than $1 trillion in assets. CheckFree
Software develops, markets and supports software applications that are used by
financial institutions to process more than two-thirds of the 10 billion
Automated Clearing House transactions in the United States. The division also
provides global trade processing, reconciliation, financial messaging,
compliance and electronic billing and statement software to hundreds of
organizations across the globe.
Certain of CheckFree'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 CheckFree's
business, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in
CheckFree's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including CheckFree's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended June 30, 2004 (filed September 3, 2004), Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2004 (filed November 9, 2004) and Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended December 31, 2004 (filed February 8, 2005). One or more of these factors
have affected, and could in the future affect CheckFree's business and
financial results in future periods, and could cause actual results to differ
materially from plans and projections. There can be no assurance that the
forward-looking statements made in this press release will prove to be
accurate, and issuance of such forward-looking statements should not be
regarded as a representation by CheckFree, or any other person, that the
objectives and plans of CheckFree will be achieved. All forward-looking
statements made in this press release are based on information presently
available to management, and CheckFree assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements.
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