Metavante Teams With w-Technologies to Add Wireless Offering to Leading Electronic Banking Solutions

Business Wire, Nov 28, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 28, 2000

Metavante Corporation, formerly M&I Data Services, today announced an agreement to market w-Technologies' wireless banking system, w-Bank(TM), to its electronic banking customers.

Through this partnership with wireless software provider w-Technologies, Metavante's Internet-based Business and Consumer Banking Solutions will allow banks to offer their customers anytime, anywhere wireless account access to view balances and transactions, transfer funds between accounts and pay bills from mobile handheld devices including PDAs, mobile phones, and pagers.

"We are extremely pleased to be working with Metavante, an innovative financial services provider with numerous financial institutions that rely upon its Internet banking technology expertise," said Donna R. Oliva, CEO of w-Technologies. "Partnering with Metavante provides a new channel for our technology to be made available to a significant number of financial institutions through a trusted, single source provider."

"Wireless banking is now becoming the next 'competitive requirement' for banks, and by offering w-Technologies' w-Bank(TM) solution to our client-base, Metavante will be providing these financial institutions with the best integrated framework and software products in the industry," said Todd Hutto, General Manager, Metavante Corporation Electronic Banking Division. "This partnership with w-Technologies furthers Metavante's goal of providing electronic banking services through the broadest possible spectrum of channels, including Internet and Windows-based applications, personal financial management software, and wireless devices of all kinds."

According to industry analysts, use of wireless services by financial institutions, especially banks, is expected to increase significantly in the next few years.

"Spending on wireless banking technologies is set to skyrocket over the coming five years," said Edward Kountz, wireless analyst at TowerGroup, a financial services research firm in Needham, Mass. "As this happens, banks of all sizes will be forced to respond with wireless banking access and services, and many banks will turn to their existing technology providers to gain access to this channel."

w-Technologies' patent-pending wireless enterprise architecture and application integration framework can support all of an organization's mobile business initiatives and easily integrates with existing computing systems and applications. The company's technology platform supports more than 225 wireless device types and all major wireless data networks, as well as ongoing integration of the latest wireless technologies. In addition, it allows companies to implement additional wireless applications and features as their business needs evolve.

About Metavante Corporation

With more than 3,300 clients, including the largest 20 banks in the United States, Metavante Corporation is a leading financial services enabler - delivering virtually all of the technology that an organization needs to offer financial services. Metavante offers financial technology solutions that drive electronic banking, presentment and payment, customer relationship management, financial technology services, private label banking services, and wealth management.

Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Metavante Corporation is wholly owned by the Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (NYSE: MI). For more information, see www.metavante.com.

About w-Technologies

Founded in 1997, w-Technologies Inc. introduced mobile commerce to the world when it released the first of its wireless application products more than two years ago. Today, the company continues to set the standard in wireless application development, offering 25 wireless software products in five groups: mobile finance, commerce, enterprise, content and communications.

w-Technologies is headquartered in New York City with an international presence in Europe and Latin America. Its clients include some of the world's leading corporations. Through its Mobile Vision Partner (MVP) program, the company also has built strategic alliances with many of the leading telecommunications companies, device manufacturers and wireless infrastructure organizations.