CKFR Checkfree Corp (MM)

-- Online payments are increasingly replacing checks for bill payment -- ATLANTA, May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CheckFree Corporation (NASDAQ:CKFR) today announced the most recent results of its survey, "The Latest Consumer Billing and Payment Trends," conducted every nine months by CheckFree Research Services with The Marketing Workshop, Inc. and Harris Interactive. The survey, which tracks bill payment behavior, revealed that 69 percent of U.S. online households say they are paying at least one bill online, up from 56 percent in March 2005. This includes consumers who pay any bill from a single "consolidated" website, such as a bank, and those who pay individual bills at a "biller direct" website, such as a telecommunications or credit card company. Online payments are steadily replacing check writing as the way to pay bills among those surveyed -- with paper checks used for 37.5 percent of all bill payments and online payments used for 35 percent. Interest in subscribing to a consolidated bill payment service was also higher among households that do not currently pay bills online, with 19 percent indicating they were "definitely interested" -- up from 15 percent in 2005. Among consumers who recently enrolled in a consolidated service, the most influential source of information in their decision was the bank branch, followed by the bank website and word-of-mouth recommendations. Over the past three years, the percentage of consumers citing the influential role of the branch has almost doubled. "As paying bills online has evolved into a mainstream consumer activity, ironically, face to face interactions such as conversations with account managers or tellers, and brochures given out at the bank branch, remain the most effective way to market the service," says Matt Lewis, executive vice president and general manager of CheckFree's Electronic Commerce Division. "The website must also be easy to use to lead interested consumers through the enrollment process, then on to making payments and receiving bills online." Consumers who currently pay bills online at a consolidated site indicate the leading benefits of the service are convenience, ease of use, control and speed of payment. When asked to rate the most important overall benefit, current users said paying bills online: saves paper, stamps and hassle (28 percent); is the easiest way to pay bills (16 percent); ensures bills are paid on the day of their choice (12 percent); and is faster than paying by check (11 percent). Electronic bills enhance consumer satisfaction Electronic bills (e-bills) contain the same information as a typical paper bill and are delivered directly to a consumer's consolidated bill pay account or a biller direct website. Of all online consumers, consolidated users with e-bill were the most satisfied with their bank, online banking and their bill payment service. - 61 percent of consolidated users with e-bill rated themselves as very satisfied with online banking, versus 54 percent of consolidated users without e-bill and 51 percent of consumers who use online banking but do not pay bills online. - E-bill users said they were more likely to recommend electronic bill payment to a friend or relative -- making 1.9 recommendations on average over the past three months versus customers without e-bill service making 1.2 recommendations. - Consumers who currently use e-bill selected the top three reasons why they choose to receive electronic bills via their consolidated service as: making sure the bill is paid on time (26 percent); convenience -- just click and pay (22 percent); and e-mail reminders (17 percent). Cost has virtually been eliminated as a barrier to adoption. Currently, 91 percent of users who pay their bills from a single consolidated website, such as a bank, brokerage or credit union, say they receive the service for free. Among the surveyed consumers who are not currently paying their bills online, the most common barrier to adoption was lack of information about the service, followed by security concerns. According to a study released by Javelin Strategy & Research and the Better Business Bureau and sponsored by CheckFree, Wells Fargo Bank and Visa USA, when known, 90 percent of unauthorized access to sensitive information is through nonelectronic traditional channels, such as a lost or stolen wallet. The study recommends that consumers replace paper invoices, statements and checks, which can be stolen from unsecured locations such as mailboxes, with electronic versions to help prevent identity theft. The study also recommends that consumers monitor bank account activity through the phone, ATM or Internet to detect potentially fraudulent activity more quickly than through paper statements. The CheckFree-sponsored study was conducted in December 2005 by The Marketing Workshop and Harris Interactive via an Internet survey of 2,230 consumers 18 years of age and older who pay at least some of their household bills. CheckFree has conducted the Consumer Billing and Payment Trends study with similar survey items at six regular intervals since 2001. 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 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 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, and include statements regarding forecasts and expectations of revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2006 as a whole, free cash flow for fiscal 2006, and sequential transaction growth and the general performance of the Company's divisions in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 (paragraphs 8 and 9). 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 the Company'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), Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2005 (filed February 8, 2006) and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 (filed May 9, 2006). One or more of these factors have affected, and could in the future affect the Company'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 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. DATASOURCE: CheckFree Corporation CONTACT: Media relations, Judy DeRango Wicks, +1-678-375-1595, or , or Investor relations, Tina Moore, +1-678-375-1278, or , both of CheckFree Corporation Web site: http://www.checkfreecorp.com/

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