Self service software developer Edify Corp has joined forces with Price Waterhouse to deliver an on-line banking service to financial institutions across the world, with a product that is thought to be the first to combine automated banking services with Internet technology. Santa Clara, California-based Edify’s Electronic Banking System has been designed to enable banks to increase the level of service required by customers via the World Wide Web. The software application combines Web banking services with optional electronic banking capabilities that support self- services via the telephone, fax and personal financial management software. Price Waterhouse, New York, will market and implement the product which is already in use in banks across the US and is expected to be brought into mainstream use in the UK in the next two to three months. Established in 1992, Edify has recently been enjoying increased profits following its flotation last June, reporting revenue for the third quarter up 100% at $9.1m. For the past six years the company has been developing packages for various industries based around its Electronic Workforce product, a tool set that has enabled the company to develop EBS. The profits from the company’s flotation enabled them to reinvest in the electronic workforce, enhancing and improving it. The aim of the electronic banking system is to provide the user, or the customer, with a convenient, 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week service that takes away the hassle of ‘normal’ banking. A customer can log into the banking system via a pin number and a password definable by the bank. Once they are inside the system the user is met with a menu which then enables them to conduct all their banking business without having to speak to anybody at the bank. The system enables customers to have access to services that allows them to transfer money from one account to another, send electronic mail messages to staff at the bank, pay their bills and instruct details of direct debits, among other things. If the customer finds that they need further assistance from staff at their bank, they can click a button that will automatically connect them to the bank via the telephone and the Internet. The system is linked with telephones and faxes, enabling users to have statement or other details faxed directly to them without having to make a formal request to bank staff. Banks in the US such as First American National, Harris Trust & Savings and the Buseui Bank are all using the system which has been received well. Edify’s European sales manager Phillip Kennell says that the system brings flexibility and convenience to banking, and in the US it has gone crazy. He said: The whole thing is based on people being able to serve themselves. Gary Meshell, director of electronic financial services at Price Warehouse’s Global Financial Services Industry Practice said: The Internet is reshaping the way financial institutions do business and there is an immediate need for a full service provider of this kind.
