Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) the nation's leading provider of personal finance software, today launched an Internet edition of BankNOW - the fastest, simplest online banking program available. Today's Internet launch by Intuit delivers quick and ready-to-use access to BankNOW for millions of consumers who use personal computers (PCs) and who want a hassle-free way of checking their account balances and paying bills online.
Consumers can quickly and simply download the BankNOW Internet Edition software from either Intuit's Quicken Financial Network Internet site (www.quicken.com) or from the Web sites of participating financial institutions.
Featuring a single screen design that requires no navigation, BankNOW Internet users can check account balances, schedule bill payments and transfer funds between accounts. Users can see the impact of a payment before it is sent, thereby avoiding an overdraft on the account.
BankNOW was initially offered on America Online, but today's introduction of an Internet version also allows users to access BankNOW via the Internet. With BankNOW Internet Edition, consumers don't have to be online to access their banking data. Users have the option to create transactions off line and then transmit online at their convenience.
"BankNOW Internet Edition brings the ease and convenience of online banking via the Internet to personal computer users," said Scott Cook, chairman of Intuit. "Now users have the flexibility to do online banking when they want and where they want."
Financial institutions offering BankNOW will provide coverage for every major geographic region in the U.S. Financial institutions now offering BankNOW via the Internet are Bank of Stockton, Barnett Bank, Centura Bank, Compass Bank, First Michigan Bank, First Union National Bank, and Mellon Bank. Institutions planning to offer BankNOW this summer include PNC Bank and Sanwa Bank California.
As additional financial institutions become ready to offer BankNOW Internet Edition, the names of those institutions will be available at www.quicken.com.
The online banking services available via BankNOW Internet Edition are protected with a personal identification number (PIN) that consumers use to authenticate each banking transaction. Security measures also feature a 1,024-bit master RSA key encryption for session key exchange and 128-bit triple DES encryption for data encryption. BankNOW Internet Edition uses VeriSign Digital Certification technology to assure customers they are downloading authentic BankNOW software from Intuit off the Internet.
BankNOW Internet requires a modem-equipped IBM-PC compatible 386 computer or greater, running Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, 4MB of RAM, 10MB of hard disk space to install, and either Netscape Navigator 2.02 or greater, or Internet Explorer 3.01 or greater browser.
