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First Union Joins Integrion Financial Network Nation's sixth largest financial institution joins leading banks in industry's largest commitment to electronic commerce. CHARLOTTE, NC AND ATLANTA, SEPTEMBER 25, 1997 -- First Union National Bank announced today that it has agreed to acquire an equity position in Integrion Financial Network, joining 17 leading banks and IBM on Integrion's Board of Managers. With this step, First Union strengthens its commitment to participating in the development of the electronic commerce arena through ownership in the alliance. Integrion provides interactive banking and electronic commerce services to financial institutions in North America. Integrion announced in August its acquisition of Visa Interactive, the remote banking subsidiary of Visa International. First Union is a customer of Visa Interactive and sits on the Board of Visa U.S.A. "Integrion has made great progress in the past six months, bringing state-of-the-art systems and applications to the market" said Jack Antonini, executive vice president and head of First Union's Consumer Group. "These developments, coupled with the additional capabilities provided by Visa Interactive, ensure Integrion's position as the preferred provider of electronic commerce services. First Union is looking forward to supporting the Gold Standard for conducting financial service transactions and introducing our customers to services enabled by Integrion's technologies." The addition of First Union brings 12 million customers in 12 states and Washington D.C. to Integrion, whose original ownership of 16 financial institutions represents over 60 percent of the households in North America. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. First Union offers its customers five ways to bank on-line - CyberbankingSM, First Union's Internet home banking service, Quicken(, Microsoft Money(, America Online(, and Telephone BillPay. Customers also can receive updated account information through Interim and Mini statements offered at First Union ATMs and 24-hour telephone access to all accounts seven days a week, 365 days a year. "First Union is a dynamic organization with a b, loyal customer franchise," said William M. Fenimore, Jr., managing director of Integrion. "We are delighted to have them as both a customer and an owner and expect them to contribute significantly to our rate of growth." FIRST UNION NATIONAL BANK Charlotte-based First Union Corporation (NYSE:FTU) provides financial products and services to approximately 12 million customers nationwide. First Union is the nation's sixth largest bank holding company with assets of $143 billion as of June 30, 1997. INTEGRION FINANCIAL NETWORK Integrion Financial Network provides interactive banking and electronic commerce solutions to financial institutions. Through the Interactive Financial Services (IFS) platform, Integrion offers financial institutions a network through which electronic transactions flow from multiple consumer access points to a bank's host system and/or processor. Integrion's operating philosophy allows banks to determine the manner and format in which home banking and electronic commerce services are offered, ensuring consistency with the bank's full range of services, effective branding by the bank and maximum customer benefit. The owners of Integrion are ABN AMRO North America, Bank One, Bank of America, Barnett Bank, Citibank, Comerica, First Chicago NBD, First Union National Bank, Fleet Financial, IBM, Key Corp, Mellon Bank, Michigan National Bank, NationsBank, Norwest, PNC Bank Royal Bank of Canada, US Bancorp, Visa U.S.A. and Washington Mutual Inc. Additional information about Integrion can be found on the Internet at www.integrion.net. -- END -- |
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