CKFR Checkfree Corp (MM)

CheckFree Announces Bank of America Alliance Agreement Amendment ATLANTA, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CheckFree Corporation , the leading provider of financial electronic commerce services and products, announced today that its Electronic Commerce division has amended its agreement with Bank of America , the nation's largest retail bank, to update the terms originally announced in April 2000. The agreement was updated to reflect the rapid growth in consumer adoption of electronic billing and payment at http://www.bankofamerica.com/ and future, growth- rate projections ahead of those contemplated in the original contract, as well as the economies of scale, and operational efficiencies that CheckFree has achieved. "Bank of America has taken the lead in electronic billing and payment, as evidenced by our dramatic growth in active online users, e-bill volumes and by the receipt of top honors in numerous industry rankings," said Sanjay Gupta, consumer and small business e-Commerce executive with Bank of America. "As a strategic partner, CheckFree has been instrumental in that success and we look forward to our continued partnership." The terms of the agreement are intended to expand the relationship for the duration of the original ten-year contract, which runs through 2010. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, however primary revisions relate to: - commitments to further mainstream consumer adoption, including e-bill delivery and adoption; - adjustments to long-term service pricing. New transaction-based pricing allows CheckFree and the bank to take advantage of economies of scale CheckFree has realized with rapid consumer adoption; - enhancements to CheckFree's industry-leading service level agreements for systems availability and e-mail response times, which bring ever- increasing quality efficiencies to the customer experience; and, - Bank of America relinquishing its rights to five million of the original 10 million warrants outlined in the April 2000 agreement. The bank's minimum annual revenue commitments remain in place at $50 million per year. "Bank of America has assumed a leadership role in educating consumers about the benefits of receiving and paying bills online, offering the service for free to their customers, and sharing their findings regarding the positive correlation between online relationships and long-term profitability," said Steve Olsen, executive vice president and general manager of CheckFree's Electronic Commerce division. "Both CheckFree and Bank of America share a commitment to Six Sigma quality and productivity processes, which continue to deliver positive results, not the least of which have been millions of consumers who have embraced this convenient way to manage their personal finances. CheckFree believes that a dynamic, interactive online relationship will eventually overtake paper as the primary channel for sharing financial information, especially bills and statements; and together with Bank of America we have made an aggressive commitment toward that goal." CheckFree also reported that there are no changes to its previously announced financial expectations for its current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2004, or for the second quarter, which ends December 31, 2003. About Bank of America Bank of America is a leading provider of online financial services. Bank of America was named the best consumer Internet bank site in the world by Global Finance magazine for two years in a row; No. 1 in customer experience by Vividence; among the Best of the Web by Forbes and Top Financial Web site by Nielsen NetRatings, based on traffic and the length of time customers spend on the site. comScore Networks, Inc. called Bank of America "the clear leader" in the rate of adoption of online bill payment and the leader of the industry based on overall number of active online customers. Bank of America stock (ticker: BAC) is listed on the New York, Pacific and London stock exchanges. 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 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, 2003 (filed September 15, 2003), and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2003 (filed November 13, 2003). 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: Judy DeRango Wicks, Media relations contact, +1-678-375-1595, or , or Tina Moore, Investor relations contact, +1-678-375-1278, both of CheckFree Corporation Web site: http://www.checkfreecorp.com/ http://www.bankofamerica.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/821650.html

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