MENLO PARK, Calif., October 19, 1995 -- Intuit, Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) today took the first step of its Internet strategy by announcing that Quicken for 96 for Windows will include three bonuses when it goes on sale Oct. 26: first, a tightly integrated version of Netscape Navigator, the leading Internet client software from Netscape Communications Corp.; second, free access to the Quicken Financial Network, Intuit's new World Wide Web site; and third, low-cost full Internet access through service provider Concentric Network Corp.
With these features, Quicken for Windows for 96 users will have easy online access to an array of financial information and services. The Quicken Financial Network will offer free around-the-clock access to Intuit's technical support knowledge bases and product information, as well as information and advice on personal finance topics. Equally important, it will provide a channel for free electronic communication between Quicken users and many of the nation's leading financial institutions.
"Intuit has focused on automating the financial activities performed at the desktop," said Intuit co-founder and chairman Scott Cook. "Now we are automating the communication between our users and the financial world. >From this point forward, most of our products will be connected -- connecting our users to Intuit, to their banks and brokers, to financial information, and to each other."
Quicken for 96 will include a number of connected features:
- As previously announced, in partnership with leading banks and financial
institutions, it will include the ability to access checking, credit card
and brokerage accounts, transfer funds and pay bills electronically --
capabilities which, at this time, will be provided via a private network
connection protected by a state-of-the-art cryptographic engine from RSA
Data Security Inc..
Intuit's financial partners in the initial release of Quicken for 96 are: American Express, Bank of Boston, Centura Bank, Chemical Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank, Compass Bank, CoreStates Bank, Crestar Bank, First National Bank of Chicago, First Interstate Bank, Home Savings of America, M&T Bank, Marquette Banks, Michigan National Bank, Sanwa Bank California, SunTrust Bank, Smith Barney, Texas Commerce Bank, Union Bank, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo Bank.
- In addition, Intuit's newly-announced partnership with Netscape to provide Internet-based capabilities in the Quicken for 96 for Windows versions will provide a rich channel for interactive communication of text, graphics, and multimedia. This collaboration has resulted in a unique implementation of Netscape Navigator which allows Quicken for Windows users to access useful financial information provided by Intuit and its financial partners on the Quicken Financial Network. Some of the institutions will have a presence on the Quicken Financial Network on Oct. 26, and more will be added in the months ahead.
Quicken for Windows for 96 marks the most comprehensive integration of online capabilities within a major software application to date. Quicken for Windows will now integrate Netscape Navigator Intuit Edition. Quicken for Windows purchasers will be entitled to receive the upcoming version 2.0 at no additional charge from Intuit when it is released later this year. By providing Netscape Navigator integrated in Quicken and enabling free access to the Quicken Financial Network to all Quicken users, Intuit has created a new and unprecedented level of connectivity for its customers.
"By integrating Netscape Navigator Intuit Edition and Internet access into Quicken for Windows for 96, Intuit will lead a fundamental change in software as we know it today," Cook said. "This will make our software expandable, easier to update or patch, more responsive to consumers' desires, and more personalized to their needs. In short, it will enable software to change or adapt in real time, giving consumers more power to make applications work for them."
The integration of Quicken for Windows and Netscape Navigator creates unprecedented new ease in delivering instant value from the Internet. For example, a single click in one of Quicken's banking screens is all it takes to launch Netscape Navigator, dial in and take the user directly to the banks' area on the Quicken Financial Network.. The integration also represents a major innovation in customer service and technical support that has the potential to change the way software service operates and is delivered.
"We encourage our users to get connected, and are enthusiastic supporters of commercial online services like America Online and Internet service providers like Concentric Network Corp. In fact, Quicken Financial Network will be accessible from every online service and Internet service provider which offers access to the World Wide Web," said Bill Harris, Intuit executive vice president. "Nevertheless, our surveys indicate that while over ninety percent of Quicken Deluxe users have modems, less than one-quarter of them subscribe to an online service, and only 2 percent have an Internet access account. We want every Intuit customer to be able to communicate with us and with our financial partners, without needing to pay an additional access or monthly fee."
While Internet access from universities and some companies is free, access from home and small business is not - and that's where people use Quicken. A minimum monthly charge from $9.95 to $19.95 for Internet access is typical and is a barrier to consumer adoption of the Internet. Quicken for Windows dramatically slashes the minimum cost required to bring such sophisticated access into homes and small business in two ways:
- Providing free access to the Quicken Financial Network Web site - no monthly fees, no hourly fees and no subscriptions. Long distance charges apply for a small percentage of North America's users who live beyond the local calling areas of Concentric's 200 local access points.
- Allowing Quicken users to choose full access to the entire Internet which will be available at the push of a button for as little as $1.95 for one hour per month -- a drastic reduction in the minimum monthly commitment usually necessary to access the Internet. Frequent users have the option of buying 7 hours for $9.95 per month. All additional hours are $1.95 per hour.
With more than a million copies of Quicken for Windows for 96 already ordered before today's announcement, integration of Netscape Navigator Intuit Edition has the potential to introduce a huge installed base of users to the Internet and provide them with easy and economical Internet access. Intuit also plans to add Netscape Navigator and Internet connectivity to other products, including later versions of Quicken for the Macintosh operating system. "We believe the strong initial orders are an indication of the high level of consumer interest in online financial services," said Eric Dunn, vice president of Intuit's Personal Finance Group. "Today's announcement will heighten that interest even more."
Telecommunications access to the Quicken Financial Network and the Internet will be provided by Concentric Network Corporation. Concentric's network includes over 200 local points of presence covering 90 percent of PC-owning households in the U.S. and 71 percent of such households in Canada, supports modem speeds of up to 28.8 kbps modems with an advanced network backbone for high-speed transmissions.
Beginning October 26th, Quicken for Windows for 96 customers will find useful financial advice, information from Intuit's bank and financial institution partners, answers to commonly asked technical questions and tips on how to tap the full potential of Intuit's family of financial products. The Quicken Financial Network will also have an area where customers can give suggestions about the kinds of information and functionality they desire, which Intuit will use to shape the future development of the Quicken Financial Network. However, the Quicken Financial Network will initially focus on topics of interest to Quicken users, and next year will grow to include a range of personal financial information and services for everyone who wishes to make smarter financial decisions.
Over the next few months, Intuit will introduce additional areas devoted to: QuickBooks and small business topics; TurboTax and personal tax topics; and TurboTax ProSeries and professional accounting topics. Intuit's Web site will also be accessible to everyone on the Internet, at the following URL: http://www.intuit.com/quicken.
"Our objective is to provide our customers with the best information and tools for making sound financial decisions. Providing this on the World Wide Web will make it available to Internet users who are not currently Intuit customers, too. This will make useful financial information available to a broader audience and help Intuit's financial institution partners broaden their reach," Harris said. "We are enabling the communications capability today, and will expand our offerings in the months ahead."
Quicken for Windows for 96 will enable two different communication mechanisms, designed for tasks requiring different levels of security:
- For transmitting confidential data and financial transactions, Quicken will contain a communications module which connects directly to customers' financial institutions via a private network. All such transactions are secured by end-to-end encryption utilizing RSA's Public-Key Cryptosystem technology combined with triple DES. Because these transactions are performed from within Quicken, the communications will happen in the background and the information will be seamlessly integrated into the user's Quicken files.
- For interactive access to the information available on The Quicken Financial Network Web site and the Internet, Quicken for Windows for 96 users will have integrated access to the security mechanisms enabled by Netscape Navigator. In addition, Intuit is working with Netscape and others to encourage the further development and availability of secure protocols for electronic commerce on the Internet such as Secure Courier in Netscape Navigator 2.0.
Intuit is the only company to succeed at winning mass consumer adoption of PC financial technologies. It pioneered computerized personal finance management with the introduction of Quicken in 1984. Today, Quicken is the best selling software application in retail stores. Intuit's QuickBooks and QuickPay are the nation's best selling accounting and payroll software products. The company's popular TurboTax, and MacInTax software are the nation's best selling tax preparation software, helping small businesses and individuals prepare tax returns and save on taxes. Intuit's Quicken Financial Planner, introduced earlier in 1995, is the nation's best-selling financial planning software, helping families make better financial decisions.
Intuit has led in online financial services, launching bill pay in 1990, Intellicharge credit card services in 1993 and Quicken Quotes, a portfolio price update service in 1994. In recent months, Intuit has announced strategic partnerships with 21 of the nation's leading financial institutions to allow customers to do banking and bill payment online. Intuit also announced that new versions of Quicken Deluxe will include Investor Insight, an online service that will provide personally-tailored information on stocks and mutual funds.
Netscape Communications Corp., based in Mountain View, Calif., is a premier provider of open software linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet. The company makes the most popular navigation software used on the Internet today -- with more than 75 percent market share of the Internet client market, according to independent Web sites such as Yahoo and Interse. The company is moving forward technically and providing a platform for new applications that will offer Quicken customers improved Internet navigation capabilities. For example, Netscape Navigator 2.0, now in beta, includes integrated email, threaded discussion groups and other capabilities to continue to offer customers the most advanced features for taking advantage of the Internet.
Concentric Network Corporation, formerly known as Concentric Research Corp., based in Cupertino, California, is a leading network communications solutions provider offering Internet access and other high performance communications services to consumers and corporate partners. Concentric offers consumers low-cost, high-quality individual dial-up access -- providing one of the fastest gateways to multi-player gaming/interactive entertainment, the nation's largest network of BBSs, the Internet and other online services. It is also one of the leading providers of virtual private networks to company's seeking to provide their own branded online content and services, such as Intuit's Quicken Financial Network.
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Server and Netscape News Server are trademarks of Netscape Communications
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