SEB Developing Mobile Banking Services Together With Ericsson

Business Wire, Feb 24, 2000

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

CeBIT 2000

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 2000

This summer, SEB will be launching its new mobile banking services together with Ericsson - who will be releasing the new R 380 mobile telephone within the next few days. Together with Ericsson, SEB will be displaying its new mobile services at this year's Cebit Fair in Hanover. To begin with, these mobile banking services will be launched in Sweden.

SEB is well to the fore as regards Internet banking services. In 1996, SEB started its Internet Bank and today it has 380,000 - or 25 percent of its customers - actively using the Internet for carrying out banking business. This makes SEB one of the leading e-banks in the world.

Now SEB is taking yet another step toward making its banking services more easily available to its customers. Starting this summer SEB will be offering its customers mobile banking via Ericsson's latest mobile telephone, the R 380.

"A mobile Internet increases accessibility for our customers. To start with, we shall be offering those services, via the WAP phone, for which there is the greatest demand. With new and more simplified ways of banking we believe that our customers will want to do new things - we noticed that early on. That's why this is just the beginning," says Johan H Larson, Head of SEB's Internet Bank.

Ericsson's R 380 is the latest thing in mobile phone and is considerably more user-friendly than existing WAP telephones. Via the R 380, SEB will be able to offer simple, easy-to-carry-out banking services. By means of the R 380's integrated "touch-screen," customers will be able to pay bills, buy shares, make transfers, etc.

SEB is the biggest banking group in the Nordic region, with funds under management of SEK 800 billion. SEB is now focusing hard upon Internet banking in Europe. SEB owns German BfG bank - Germany's fifth largest bank - and is planning to launch a new generation of its Internet Bank there in the third quarter of this year.

At 12:30 on Friday 25 February at Sveavagen 8 in Stockholm, SEB will be calling a press conference. The new mobile banking services will be demonstrated by, among others, Johan H Larson, Head of SEB's Internet Bank. Kennet Radne, Head of Ericsson Business Consulting will also be participating.

We look forward to meeting you!

For further information, please contact:

Johan H Larson, Head of SEB's Internet Bank,

Telephone 46 8 705 12 38 02

Boo Ehlin, Head of External Communication at SEB,

Telephone 46 8 763 85 77, 46 70-763 85 77

Jorgen K Olsson, Information, SEB Internet Bank,

Telephone 46 70-763 85 77

Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information.

The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/02/24/20000224BIT00150/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/02/24/20000224BIT00150/bit0002.pdf