Firethorn and CheckFree to Provide America First Credit Union with Mobile Banking and Payments
September 10 2007 - 12:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
Top 10 credit union to deliver convenient, flexible and secure
banking and payment options to members ATLANTA, Sept. 10
/PRNewswire/ -- Firethorn Holdings, LLC,
(http://www.firethornmobile.com/) the mobile banking and payments
enabler, and CheckFree Corporation (NASDAQ:CKFR), a leading
provider of financial electronic commerce services and products,
announced today that Ogden, Utah- based America First Credit Union,
one of the nation's 10 largest credit unions, will offer the
Firethorn mobile banking solution to its 432,000 members. America
First plans to go live with mobile banking and payments during the
first quarter of 2008. Members will be able to use their mobile
devices to pay bills, check balances, view history and transfer
funds from their America First Credit Union accounts. America First
selected Firethorn based on its relationships with the nation's two
largest wireless carriers and the opportunity for the application
to be pre-loaded on AT&T mobile handsets, thus increasing
visibility and likelihood of user adoption. "After researching the
mobile banking and payments market and our members' needs, we
concluded Firethorn's pre-loaded, single sign-on solution and
CheckFree's proven expertise in electronic bill payments provided
the best solution for our members," America First President and
Chief Executive Officer Rick Craig noted. "We were looking for
established partners who could deliver seamless and secure
connections to various carriers and wireless devices. We chose
Firethorn and CheckFree for their successful track record in
financial services, and their proven ability to deliver a turnkey
solution, from implementation to integration." The Firethorn
solution provides a rich user experience and a solid pathway to
emerging payment capabilities including contactless payments. The
Firethorn solution is customizable and branded, thus enabling
America First to tailor the application to showcase specific
products and services for its members. Because the mobile banking
solution will be embedded on the mobile device, wireless users will
be able to easily locate the application and sign up. "We are glad
to welcome America First into our group of strategic partners. The
credit union is showing itself to be a pioneer in the industry
through its involvement with mobile banking and payments,"
Firethorn Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tripp Rackley notes.
"We look forward to working with this valued credit union to
provide a mobile banking and payments solution that will allow
America First to improve member retention, generate revenue and
enhance brand equity." The $4.1 billion-asset credit union also
cited Firethorn's exclusive partnership with online banking and
bill payment leader CheckFree (NASDAQ:CKFR) as one of the key
reasons for selecting Firethorn. "America First is one of the top
credit unions in the country and has been a valued CheckFree online
bill payment partner since 2000," said Alex Hart, executive vice
president and general manager of CheckFree Electronic Banking
Services. "We're pleased that America First members will soon be
able to access the same CheckFree electronic billing and payment
services through their Firethorn-enabled mobile devices." The
Firethorn mobile banking and payments application is available on
AT&T wireless handsets today and will be expanded to support
multiple banks later this year. A nationwide, multi-million-dollar,
joint advertising and education initiative, in partnership with a
growing list of leading financial institutions will accompany this
rollout. "Customers now have the flexibility to bank at branch
locations, on the PC and on mobile devices. People will choose
their banking method based on convenience, ease of use and a
positive overall experience, things AT&T carefully considers
when adding any application to mobile handsets," said Mark Collins,
vice president, Consumer Data Products, AT&T's wireless unit.
"Every bank that is added to Firethorn's platform will provide
additional choice and a richer experience for AT&T's 63.7
million customers." About Firethorn Firethorn is the mobile banking
and payments enabler supported by the nation's leading financial
institutions and wireless carriers. The Firethorn solution is a
single, secure, certified application embedded on select wireless
handsets, which allows users to view account balances and history,
transfer funds and receive and pay bills. Firethorn enables
financial institutions to deliver branded services to consumers via
the mobile device, wireless carriers to deliver
consumer-convenient, mass-market applications to subscribers, and
mobile device users to access and add multiple financial
relationships with one password. Firethorn network partners gain
the ability to improve customer retention, generate revenue and
enhance brand equity. Firethorn is among IDC Research's "Emerging
Mobile Players to Watch" and one of Georgia's Most Innovative
Technology Companies. For more information on Firethorn, visit
http://www.firethornmobile.com/ or call 678.507.2500. About America
First Credit Union Headquartered in Ogden, Utah, America First
Credit Union was founded in 1939 by a small group of people
determined to form their own cooperative to promote their
collective economic well-being. In its 68 year history, America
First has become one of the largest, most stable and most
progressive credit unions in the country and has remained a
member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative financial institution.
Today, America First is the 12th largest credit union in assets in
the United States with over $4 billion, and the 8th largest credit
union in membership in the United States, with over 432,000
members. About CheckFree (http://www.checkfreecorp.com/) Founded in
1981, CheckFree Corporation (NASDAQ:CKFR) provides financial
electronic commerce services and products to organizations around
the world. CheckFree Electronic Commerce solutions enable financial
services providers to offer the convenience of online banking, and
along with billers, to offer the convenience of receiving and
paying household bills online, via phone or in person through
retail outlets. CheckFree Investment Services provides a broad
range of investment management solutions and outsourced services to
hundreds of financial services organizations, which manage about
$1.8 trillion in assets. CheckFree Software develops, markets and
supports software applications that are used by financial
institutions to process more than two- thirds of the nearly 14
billion Automated Clearing House transactions in the United States.
The division also provides financial institutions and other
organizations with payment processing and consulting,
reconciliation and exception management, fraud and risk management,
cash and logistics management, and compliance software and
services. 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 the
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, 2007 (filed August
24, 2007). 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. About AT&T AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier
communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates,
AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T
services in the United States and around the world. Among their
offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business
communications services and the nation's leading wireless, high
speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets,
AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising
sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM
organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in
such fields as communications equipment. As part of its
three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV
entertainment offerings. Additional information about AT&T Inc.
and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and
affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/. AT&T and the
AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Knowledge Ventures. For
more information, please review this announcement in the AT&T
newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom. DATASOURCE: Firethorn
Holdings, LLC CONTACT: Kelly Buday of Firethorn Holdings, LLC,
+1-678-507-2555, Web site: http://www.firethornmobile.com/
http://www.checkfreecorp.com/ http://www.att.com/
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