ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 10, 1996 TAG: 9609100052
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: PATRICIA LAMIELL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
IBM AND 15 banks have launched the Integrion Financial Network.
IBM and 15 banks, which claim as customers more than half the households in North America, on Monday launched a company that aims to set the standard for such services as on-line check writing and money transfers.
The new company, called Integrion Financial Network, will offer on-line services similar to those already available through software such as Intuit Corp.'s Quicken and Microsoft Corp.'s Money.
But IBM hopes the venture will attract new banks to the on-line world by giving even the smallest of them a network through which their customers can talk to them, and an industry standard by which they communicate. The new network will allow banks to brand their own on-line products on the screen.
Bank customers will be able to use it to check their bank balances, write checks, transfer funds and send e-mail to their banks. Eventually, they may be able to trade securities and get stock quotes, get access to their mutual funds and apply for loans.
Integrion represents banks' latest effort at staying at the top of the banking services business, which has been encroached on in recent years by nonbank companies.
Intuit and Microsoft, and a third provider of banking software, MECA Corp., say they will some day offer sophisticated banking, bill-paying and financial planning services to residential customers. They envision, for example, that a customer will some day use a home computer to download ``electronic money'' into so-called ``smart cards.''
But that day is years away. Last year, only 1 percent of all banking transactions were conducted on line, according to the American Bankers Association.
In tone, IBM tried to set itself apart from the strategies of Intuit and Microsoft by giving member banks more control over the product. Integrion will let the banks plaster their names on the service, in contrast to existing mass-market financial programs, which emphasize the software developers.
``We're a partner, not a competitor,'' said Louis Gerstner, chairman of IBM.
Integrion's bank partners include big institutions such as BancOne, Bank of America, NationsBank and the Royal Bank of Canada.
Other banks in the venture are ABN AMRO, Barnett Bank, Comerica, First Bank Systems, First Chicago NBD, Fleet Financial Group, KeyCorp, Mellon Bank, Michigan National Bank, PNC Bank and Washington Mutual Services Bank.
But the services that Integrion develops will be open to all banks. Charges will not differ for banks that haven't bankrolled the service but join later.
The banks will reach their customers via their own on-line home page, which will be accessible through the Internet's World Wide Web and other on-line services, such as America Online, CompuServe and Prodigy.
IBM's global data network, typically used by large companies to supplement their internal data networks, will also be an option to deliver services.
Banks will be able to decide whether their customers can integrate their financial programs, such as Quicken or Money, into the on-line services. In some cases, the banking services will be available simply with Web browsing software.
Participating banks will make money by charging transaction fees for carrying out tasks on line. IBM will make money by selling services and integrating various software programs and computer systems for Integrion. IBM and the member banks hope other companies will write software and create computer products that will be compatible with Integrion. It hopes to use Integrion as the standard for which other products are created.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Louis Gerstner, chairman and CEO of IBM, introducesby CNBthe Integrion Financial Network in New York Monday.