CHICAGO (04/18/2000) - Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) today released details about a wireless banking service that gives customers access to their bank accounts through their Palm VII handheld computers or Web-enabled cellular phones.
EDS's Wireless Banking Solutions allow financial institutions to provide customers access to electronic banking using Palm VII's wireless capabilities and Palm.Net proxy servers, or using a Wireless Application Protocol-enabled (WAP) phone and Phone.com proxy servers. The services will be available in any major metropolitan area in the U.S., EDS officials said today in a briefing here. EDS first announced the new services in a news release yesterday.
Customers will be able to use the services to conduct electronic banking, including bill paying, account balancing, transferring funds and completing transactions, from a handheld device.
So far, only one bank, USA Bancshares.com, a virtual bank whose services are offered only over the Internet, has rolled out the service, but Texans Credit Union is prepared to begin offering the service in May, said Chris Carrington, president of EDS's e-solutions business line in the Americas. EDS plans to offer the service to all of its existing 220 bank customers, Carrington said.
Mark Atchison, director of financial products for EDS' E.solutions division, said EDS software installed on the Palm or Web-enabled phone creates the user interface. Every transaction is not only encrypted but it also carries a distinct embedded token that must match up with the host. The tokens change dynamically with each transaction.
The cost to use the service would be set by the bank and most likely would include air-time fees. Currently there are no plans to release the services for Windows CE devices, EDS officials said.
EDS, in Plano, Texas, can be reached at +1-972-403-3945 or at http://www.eds.com/.