 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
BankBoston Uses IBM Electronic Check Software in Trial With U.S. Treasury
(IBM) Company Press ReleaseBOSTON and SOMERS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 1997-- BankBoston and IBM(TM) announced today their participation in a trial that will enable the U.S. Department of Treasury to offer electronic check payments to its vendors, which are also BankBoston customers. BankBoston is the first commercial bank to participate in the electronic check trial managed by the Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC), an industry group comprised of financial institutions, technology providers, research organizations and government agencies. In the trial, the U.S. Treasury will issue electronic checks to pay vendors supplying products and services to the Federal Government. Using IBM's electronic check bank server, BankBoston will process electronic checks for deposit into the vendors' existing checking accounts and clear them electronically. NationsBank also plans to use IBM's electronic check bank server to support vendors participating in the U.S. Treasury trial beginning in the second quarter of 1998. IBM's electronic check bank server accepts electronic checks delivered to the banks via public electronic mail systems over the Internet. The bank server functions as a front-end to the bank's legacy system allowing electronic checks to be processed along with paper checks currently using the bank's existing systems. It will perform the same functions as readers/sorters in preparing paper checks for processing and clearing by the bank's accounting systems. In fact, BankBoston is able to offer electronic check services to participating customers with limited modifications to legacy systems. The electronic check bank server will be integrated into IBM's CommercePOINT(TM) family of secure electronic commerce solutions as part of IBM's ongoing efforts to help its customers become e-businesses. ``We look forward to being the first bank to enable participating customers to experience the advantages of electronic checks,'' said Susan Rugnetta, managing director, Global Cash Management, BankBoston. ``We believe the electronic check is uniquely positioned to enable electronic commerce among trading partners of all sizes and levels of sophistication -- from individuals and small businesses handling electronic checks one-at-a-time to very large organizations automatically processing them through existing accounting systems,'' she added. BankBoston has provided technical and project leadership to FSTC's electronic check project since its inception in 1995. ``IBM is delighted to work with BankBoston to leverage our experience in secure standards-based payment systems for the benefit of U.S. Treasury,'' said Mark Greene, vice president, IBM Internet Payments and Certification. ``IBM first introduced Internet credit and debit card solutions based on the Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) protocol from Visa and MasterCard. Under this new initiative with FSTC and BankBoston, we now also provide support for electronic checks.'' Developed in conjunction with Agorics Inc., IBM's electronic check bank server is its first payment product based on the FSTC electronic check standard. Agorics, Inc., a California corporation, utilizes market leading technologies to design and develop secure electronic commerce software, including Java client and server applications. The FSTC is a not-for-profit organization which performs cooperative research and development projects for the financial services industry and is managing the electronic check trial for the U.S. Treasury. About BankBoston BankBoston (NYSE:BKB), with assets of $66.1 billion as of June 30, 1997, was founded in 1784 and is the 15th-largest bank holding company in the United States. BankBoston is engaged in: consumer banking in southern New England; financing to selected corporations regionally, nationally and internationally; and full-service banking in key Latin American markets. The Corporation and its subsidiaries operate through a network of offices in the United States and through more than 100 offices in 23 countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia, the third-largest overseas network of any U.S. bank. The Corporation's common and preferred stocks are listed on the New York and Boston stock exchanges. More information about BankBoston is available on the Web at http://www.bankboston.com. About IBM As the industry's leading provider of e-business solutions, IBM was the first company to bring to market in 1996 a comprehensive suite of secure end-to-end electronic commerce solutions, the CommercePOINT family of products and services. In April, IBM announced the first merchant server in the industry to use the SET protocol, Net.Commerce(TM). IBM creates, develops and manufactures advanced information technology products, including computer systems and services, software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics. More information about IBM's many Internet technologies, products and services is available on the Web at http://www.internet.ibm.com. Contact: IBM Last updated: 18 July 2001 |
