Under terms of the agreement, MECA will complement the development of its own financial management software product, Managing Your Money, with the ability to further develop its rapidly growing software customization business with the Quicken code base. Intuit will team with MECA to deliver custom versions to a broad range of financial institutions, including banks, brokerages and insurance companies. Financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

"This agreement gives financial institutions exactly what they’ve been asking for -- direct access to more than 10 million Quicken customers who are already using computers to manage their finances plus the freedom to deliver branded products and services that drive their own business goals," said Bill Harris, executive vice president of Intuit.

"Financial institutions want and need to maintain and solidify their relationship with their own customers. Many financial institutions’ customers already use Quicken, and are very loyal to their financial institution," said Paul Harrison, president of MECA. "By offering a customized and uniquely branded version of Quicken, financial institutions will now be able to offer their customers an even broader choice of personal financial management software, while enhancing their brand identity. Consumers will benefit from versions of Quicken which can be much more tightly integrated with those products and services offered by their primary financial institution."

"We are pleased that Intuit and MECA have joined together to work even more closely with the financial services industry," said Amy Brinkley, executive vice president, NationsBank. "The successful MECA business model, combined with the award winning Quicken product offerings, should be a very exciting and attractive combination for the financial services industry and our customers."

"Adding customized Quicken to MECA's extensive products, services and solutions for electronic delivery will offer financial institutions additional choices in meeting customers' needs. Both Intuit's Quicken and MECA's Managing Your Money products have unique strengths and capabilities. This choice, coupled with the opportunity to work with MECA, the leading customization firm in this market, offers very exciting opportunities for the financial services industry," said Greg Ross, executive vice president, New England Financial.

Using Quicken source code as the base, MECA will work closely with its financial institution customers to develop customized PC-based personal financial management software products that address a broad range of financial needs and opportunities. While specific features of each version are the decision of each institution, MECA expects that most will want to include embedded browser links to their own Web sites to enable such activities as account balance inquiries, information exchange, sales and marketing, and transactions over the Internet.

To ensure easy Internet and Web links, MECA will support broad connectivity, including connectivity to Integrion’s Interactive Financial Services (IFS) platform.

"This partnership will help expand the adoption of online banking," said Pete Kight, president and chief executive officer of CheckFree Corporation. "I believe there is going to be very widespread interest from our three hundred bank clients to quickly use this opportunity to extend online banking to their Quicken customers. Financial institutions will be able to take advantage of this new development for their own benefit as well as for the benefit of their customers."

"This relationship is consistent with Integrion’s philosophy of allowing financial institutions to provide customers with a unique, bank branded experience," said William M. Fenimore, Jr., managing director of Integrion. "Integrion plans to support these customized versions through connectivity to the Interactive Financial Services platform."