BROOKFIELD, Wis., Feb 09, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading provider of information technology services to the financial services industry, today announced that Fiserv's CheckFree line of business was ranked as the top retail Internet banking vendor by Celent, a leading financial services IT and strategy research firm.

In a recent report entitled, Retail Internet Banking Vendors: Shifting Gears to Optimize the Online Channel, Celent examines the current state of online banking and evaluates 12 retail Internet banking vendors, translating its findings into a framework called the Celent ABCD Vendor View. The framework is designed to show at a glance the relative positions of each vendor in: Advanced technology, Breadth of features and usability, Customer base and Depth of bank services. Each vendor solution was judged relative to the others in the group. For the third year in a row, CheckFree (which acquired Corillian in 2007, and is now part of Fiserv) stands out as the clear leader.

"CheckFree continues to lead the industry in performance, feature/functionality, and depth and breadth of services," said Edward Woods, senior analyst at Celent. "In the competitive field there is one thing that continues to set CheckFree apart from its competition. Of all the reviews completed, CheckFree had the most compelling and focused vision for maximizing the opportunity of the Internet channel, while it was also the most prepared to execute the vision. CheckFree realizes that an optimized online channel requires firing on all cylinders, not just driving down service costs or increasing utilization of functions. Every feature, capability, or workflow is designed to positively impact at least one of the performance indicators -- customer acquisition, retention, costs or customer wallet -- within a financial institution."

Building on its success over the past year, in November 2008 Fiserv announced the availability of Online Advantage^(TM), an innovative online banking solution that seamlessly integrates all commonly viewed account information--bill pay, balances, transfers and personal money management--onto a single functional screen, enabling enhanced usability and a better consumer experience. Online Advantage leverages the industry-leading features and best practices from Corillian's online banking and CheckFree's bill payment services in a seamless solution to help financial institutions expand targeted online interactions and enhance customer relationships, while increasing profitability at all customer touch-points.

"Online banking has reached a new era where financial institutions are moving beyond just features and functionality and are now focused on making the online channel more effective," said Todd Lesher, division president, Fiserv Electronic Banking Services. "Consumers' online behavior and expectations are increasing as consumers become more sophisticated users of the Internet. Financial institutions must respond by optimizing their online channel to deliver the richest online experience to consumers with a combination of the latest online tools integrated with an intuitive user design. We are honored that Celent has recognized us as a top online banking provider and we will continue to deliver on our commitment of online channel optimization and driving the best online experience for our clients."

In October 2008, Online Advantage, won "Best of Show" at the Finovate 2008 Conference in New York, based on voting among more than 400 bankers, members of the press, technology executives, venture capitalists and analysts attending the conference.

For more details on the Internet banking report, please visit Celent's Web site at http://www.celent.com.

About Fiserv, Inc.

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a Fortune 500 company, provides information management and electronic commerce systems and services to the financial industry. Leading services include transaction processing, outsourcing, electronic bill payment and presentment, investment management solutions, business process outsourcing (BPO), software and systems solutions. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., the company is the leading provider of account processing solutions for U.S. banks, credit unions and thrifts with more than 6,000 clients worldwide. InformationWeek magazine selected Fiserv as the top ranked company in the Banking and Financial Services category, and chose Fiserv No.4 overall on the 2008 InformationWeek 500. Fiserv was ranked the largest provider of information technology services to the financial services industry worldwide in the 2008, 2006, 2005 and 2004 FinTech 100 surveys. For more information, please visit www.fiserv.com.

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SOURCE: Fiserv, Inc.

Fiserv, Inc.
Lori Stafford-Thomas
Assistant Vice President Corp. External Comm.
262-879-5130
lori.stafford@fiserv.com
or
Additional Contact:
Steve Shaw
Fiserv Internet Banking and Electronic Payments Group
Director, Strategic Marketing
503-746-0786
steve.shaw@fiserv.com

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