ATLANTA, Nov. 14, 2001 — CheckFree i-Solutions and Denver Water today announced that electronic billing and payment services are available to more than 200,000 households in the metropolitan Denver area.
Denver Water launched the program in May of 2001 and is the first local utility to offer an electronic billing and payment program in the area.
Using the online service, utility customers can access, review and pay their water bills at their choice of CheckFree-powered financial services sites. As a result, consumers can spend less of their valuable free time paying bills each month by eliminating the need to open bills, write checks, manually record the payments, stuff envelopes and locate stamps to pay the same companies month after month.
With the program, Denver Water customers can securely view their bills in minutes, review current and outstanding account balances and access complete bill information from anywhere they have a computer and Internet access. With a few simple clicks of the mouse, consumers can schedule their bill payment from the checking, savings or money market account of their choice. In addition, customers who pay bills electronically through this service are protected from late fees and interest charges due to processing delays, and liability for unauthorized transactions, by the CheckFree Guarantee.
"As the first utility in the region to offer our customers the ability to receive and pay their utility bills online, we are encouraged by the fantastic growth of the program to date," said Carol McEnroe, customer service manager at Denver Water. "It is clear that the service offers people a simple and convenient method for managing their finances."
"Electronic billing and payment gives consumers a way to increase control over their finances, while it reduces the time it takes to pay bills," said Tom Stampiglia, president of CheckFree i-Solutions. "Denver Water is a valuable addition to the growing list of electronic bills Coloradans can view and pay from their PCs, at sites that are hosted by their trusted financial institutions or favorite portals."
Today Denver Water's customers can enroll for the service through their choice of financial services sites that include banks, brokerages, credit unions, Internet portals and personal financial management software. At these sites, Denver Water customers can also receive and pay other bills from a growing number of telephone, mortgage, insurance and credit card companies. Consumers can also use "pay everyone" services to make payments from their computers to anyone to whom they would write a check. This includes all payments, even day care centers, charitable deductions and money sent to individuals, such as children in college.
Electronic bills currently available in Colorado include national billers such as AT&T Consumer Long Distance, Sears, Countrywide Home Loans, Lowe's Consumer Credit and more. For a complete list of sites that offer CheckFree electronic billing and payment, visit www.checkfree.com/ebillservices
About Denver Water
Established in 1918, Denver Water is Colorado's oldest and largest water utility. Denver Water is responsible for the collection, storage, quality control and distribution of drinking water to nearly one fourth of all Coloradans. For more information about Denver Water, visit www.denverwater.org .
About CheckFree i-Solutions
As a software group within CheckFree Corporation, CheckFree i-Solutions is the provider of end-to-end business-to-consumer and business-to- business solutions for e-billing and payment and e-statement delivery. CheckFree i-Solutions offers CheckFree i-Series software for e-bill and e-statement creation, i-Processing services that include payment and distribution through more than 400 financial services sites and customer care, and i-Hosting services that accommodate software hosting and full-service outsourcing. With 279 billers under contract, CheckFree i-Solutions is committed to helping billers, financial services organizations and biller service providers leverage electronic bills and statements as interactive conduits to customer relationship management, marketing and customer self service applications.
About CheckFree (www.checkfree.com )
CheckFree is a provider of financial electronic commerce services and products. Founded in 1981 and celebrating its 20th year in e-commerce, CheckFree is comprised of three divisions: Electronic Commerce, Software, and Investment Services. CheckFree launched the first fully integrated electronic billing and payment solution in 1997.
