Fiserv Completes Acquisition of CheckFree

Fiserv has completed its $4.4 billion cash acquisition of billing, payment and transaction management vendor CheckFree Corporation (Atlanta), according to the Brookfield, Wisc.-based vendor.

More than 3,000 financial services Web sites currently use CheckFree's electronic billing and payment services provided by CheckFree, and growth will continue as consumers and businesses move from paper to electronic processes, a Fiserv source asserts. CheckFree has the market-leading online banking platform for financial institutions and its investment services platform processes portfolios with assets under management totaling more than $1.8 trillion, according to the source.

Fiserv characterizes CheckFree's client base of large financial institutions as complementing Fiserv's base of more than 18,000 clients. The newly combined company has the expertise, solutions and scale to support financial institutions of any size in a number of areas including core processing, electronic billing, risk management, payments (including cash and logistics, ACH, imaging, online, phone, emergency and walk-in) and wealth management/managed accounts, Fiserv says.

Former CheckFree CEO and Chairman Pete Kight will be named Vice Chairman of Fiserv and will lead new product development and strategic integration. Additionally, Kight will join its Board of Directors. Steve Olsen, former Chief Operating Officer of CheckFree, will become Fiserv's Group President of Internet Banking and Electronic Payments. Olsen will lead the company's bill payments, internet banking, treasury/cash management and investment management businesses.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio