America Online and Intuit Announce Strategic Alliance to Provide Electronic Banking to AOL Subscribers

Business Wire, Nov 13, 1995

MENLO PARK, Calif./VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 1995-- Intuit, Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), the world's leading provider of financial software and electronic financial services, and America Online, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMER), the world's leading online service, said today that they had signed a strategic agreement to jointly provide electronic banking to AOL members, starting in the first half of next year.

In addition, Intuit will revamp its online area on AOL and include links to its recently launched Internet Web site known as the Quicken Financial Network. AOL will make Intuit software products available for sale on AOL, and both companies will sponsor joint promotions to introduce their products to each other's customer base.

With electronic banking, America Online members will gain instant access to their checking, savings, money market and credit card accounts at participating banks and financial institutions. They will be able to check their balances, download complete account statements, transfer funds, and pay bills -- all electronically from within their AOL account.

"As we begin to reach millions of consumers, online financial services are an important offering for our members and we are pleased to be forming a strategic alliance with Intuit to provide these services," said Steve Case, Chairman and CEO of America Online, Inc. "This new alliance will allow our 4 million members to benefit from direct connection to a range of financial services that can help them save time and make more informed decisions."

"Intuit is building electronic channels for banks to reach millions of existing customers and new customers," said Scott Cook, Intuit Inc. chairman and co-founder. "These types of electronic banking services are already available to Quicken users; making them available to the fast-growing millions of America Online subscribers will help us to expand our services to customers who are not currently users of personal finance software."

AOL customers will be able to access account data and bill payment services directly from participating financial institutions via AOL and Intuit Services Corporation (ISC), the same facility that links Quicken users to their financial institutions. For those banks currently offering electronic banking services via Quicken, no additional equipment or programming will be necessary to offer these services via AOL; a single connection to ISC will enable banks to communicate electronically with the millions of Quicken users and the millions of AOL members alike.

The electronic banking services will be provided to AOL members at no charge from Intuit, and will be included as part of AOL's monthly subscription fee. AOL members who have accounts at participating financial institutions will be able to sign up with those institutions for electronic access to their account. Pricing for this access will be at the discretion of each financial institution. Names of participating financial institutions will be announced over the next few months. AOL and Intuit expect to launch the service in the first half of 1996 for Windows users and by the end of 1996 for Macintosh users.

The electronic banking services available on AOL will include the same security procedures used for electronic banking via Quicken. These procedures include a personal identification number that the customer uses to authenticate each banking transaction and high-level RSA Data Security encryption to secure the transactions while in transit between the AOL subscriber's PC and the bank.

America Online, Inc., (NASDAQ symbol: AMER), based in Vienna, Virginia is the largest and fastest-growing provider of online services in the world, with the most active subscriber base. AOL offers its more than four million subscribers a wide variety of services, including electronic mail, conferencing, software, computing support, interactive magazines and newspapers, and online classes, as well as easy and affordable access to services of the Internet. AOL has a global workforce consisting of more than 2,500 people. Founded in 1985, AOL has established strategic alliances with dozens of companies, including Capital Cities/ABC, Viacom, Bertelsmann, Hachette, IBM, Compaq, and American Express. Personal computer owners can obtain America Online software at major retailers and bookstores, or by calling 800-827-6364.

Intuit is the only company to succeed at winning mass consumer adoption of PC financial technologies. It pioneered computerized personal finance management with the introduction of Quicken in 1984. Today, Quicken is the best selling software application in retail stores. Intuit's QuickBooks and QuickPay are the nation's best selling accounting and payroll software products. The company's popular TurboTax and MacInTax software are the nation's best selling tax preparation software, helping small businesses and individuals prepare tax returns and save on taxes. Intuit's Quicken Financial Planner, introduced earlier in 1995, is the nation's best-selling financial planning software, helping individuals and families make better financial decisions.