CKFR Checkfree Corp (MM)

National City Selects CheckFree's ARP/SMS --Gain the Power to Increase Reconciliation and Positive Pay Offerings and Streamline Operations-- ATLANTA, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CheckFree Financial and Compliance Solutions, a business unit of CheckFree Corporation , today announced that National City Corporation has selected CheckFree ARP/SMS(TM) (Account Reconciliation Package/Service Management System), a fully integrated, online, real-time check and deposit reconciliation system that will enhance National City's existing Account Reconcilement and Positive Pay products for its corporate clients. Using CheckFree ARP/SMS, National City can provide partial, full, and deposit reconciliation services to its corporate clients, as well as enhancements to other value-added services such as Positive Pay and Teller Positive Pay. Many back-office activities are automated with ARP/SMS, thereby reducing the time associated with supporting reconciliation and Positive Pay. Positive Pay is an effective tool used by many financial institutions today to combat check fraud. By using Positive Pay, banks can validate each check they are presented against their client's file of issued checks to look for duplicate serial numbers, voided checks, stolen checks, and checks with altered amounts or payee lines. "We selected ARP/SMS so we could process our reconciliation product in a real-time mode rather than a batch mode," said John Sciano, vice president and senior product manager for National City. "Our associates can now submit real-time inquiries and immediately receive information on all maintenance, adjustments, additions, balancing and control requests. This allows us to deliver a more comprehensive and complete reconciliation and Positive Pay service to our clients." "Combating check fraud has become a critical component of doing business in today's culture. To reduce financial losses, banks must control fraud which requires efficient, automated positive pay systems,"said Mark Zill, senior vice president and general manager, CheckFree Financial and Compliance Solutions. "CheckFree ARP/SMS allows National City to add security to its front line operations to the benefit of its valued corporate customers." About National City Corporation National City Corporation (NYSE:NCC), headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the nation's largest financial holding companies. The company operates through an extensive distribution network in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and also serves customers in selected markets nationally. Its primary businesses include commercial and retail banking, consumer finance, asset management, mortgage financing and servicing, and payment processing. For more information about National City Corporation, visit the company's Web site at http://www.nationalcity.com/ . 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 December 31, 2003, more than 12 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 essentially all the bills most common to a U.S. household. CheckFree delivers 18.5 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 1.4 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, financial messaging, workflow and compliance software and services to more than 600 organizations in the banking, brokerage, investment management, 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. 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) and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2003 (filed February 12, 2004). 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: Media, Judy DeRango Wicks, +1-678-375-1595, or , orInvestor relations, Tina Moore, +1-678-375-1278, or , both of CheckFree Corporation Web site: http://www.checkfreecorp.com/ http://www.nationalcity.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/821650.html

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