CKFR Checkfree Corp (MM)

ATLANTA and LAS VEGAS, March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IHRSA 2006 Booth #1259 -- Aphelion, now part of CheckFree Corporation (NASDAQ:CKFR), today announced it has completed the implementation of Aphelion club management software at 26 United Kingdom health and fitness facilities managed by Bladerunner. This milestone marks the completion of the first phase of Aphelion software implementation at facilities managed by Bladerunner, which provides health and fitness management services to the corporate, education and hotel sectors in the United Kingdom and Europe. Bladerunner is utilizing the software for club and membership management, as well as payment processing. "CheckFree and Aphelion provide Bladerunner with a flexible club management system that can be used across the wide profile of fitness facilities that we manage, ranging in size from 100 to 3,000 members," said Steve Mathers, Finance Director, Bladerunner. "With the implementation of Aphelion software linked to a central server, Bladerunner has been able to realize efficiencies in the monthly administrative task of membership maintenance and to centralize processing of members' direct debit transactions. In addition, we are able to use the club management software to gain insight into our members' workout needs." In order to maximize internal resources, including instructor time and workout space, Bladerunner is using Aphelion software to schedule fitness classes during periods of peak demand. In addition, Bladerunner is incorporating the software into each facility's member retention strategy. Aphelion software provides a detailed analysis of member activities, allowing Bladerunner to contact members whose club attendance has become less frequent and identify and implement strategies to bring them back to the club. "Club management software from Aphelion and CheckFree offers a high level of functionality for clubs of all sizes, and has enabled Bladerunner to provide members top-notch customer service through the latest technology," said Matt McKernan, Senior Vice President, CheckFree. "Members of Bladerunner- managed facilities now benefit from the additional time that club staff are able to spend interacting with members, rather than handling administrative tasks." In January 2006, the first phase of Aphelion software implementation at Bladerunner-managed facilities was completed upon installation of the software the health and fitness facility at Denham Garden Village, a London retirement community. Aphelion began the software implementation in September 2003 at the Princess Royal Sports Arena, Boston, Lincolnshire, which was officially opened by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) in October 2003. Additional Bladerunner-managed locations currently using Aphelion membership management software include 3Com, BP, Kodak, Lloyds TSB, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Rolls-Royce, Accenture and Sony Corporation. Bladerunner manages over 70 fitness facilities throughout the United Kingdom and in Europe. The company is based in Hertfordshire, England. About CheckFree Health & Fitness (http://www.checkfreeclubmanager.com/) CheckFree Health & Fitness, a business unit of CheckFree Corporation, has delivered targeted applications designed to meet the operational, financial and membership needs of the health and fitness industry since 1981. The unit is the single source for improving cash flow, expediting financials, and managing membership contracts and reservations. CheckFree Health & Fitness' complete suite of solutions enables clubs to grow and retain membership while helping to minimize day-to-day costs. In November 2005, CheckFree acquired Aphelion. Aphelion's mission is to design software and systems from the user's standpoint -- intuitive and easy to use, while maintaining extensive functionality. Aphelion has a long- standing reputation of excellence in commitment to customer support and consistently develops new technology to provide leading edge products to customers in the fitness and process industries. About CheckFree (http://www.checkfree.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 about $1.3 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 12 billion Automated Clearing House transactions in the United States. The division also provides operational risk management, financial messaging, corporate actions, and regulatory compliance software to more than 1,500 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, 2005 (filed September 2, 2005), Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2005 (filed November 8, 2005), and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2005 (filed February 8, 2006). 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. DATASOURCE: CheckFree Corporation CONTACT: Ann Cave of CheckFree Corporation, +1-678-375-4039, or Web site: http://www.checkfreecorp.com/ http://www.checkfreeclubmanager.com/

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