Home Account provides a suite of Unix-based Internet banking and electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) products and services in an Application Services Provider (ASP) environment. Its clients include Bank of America, Citigroup, First Union, United Missouri Bank, Metris, Scudder Kemper, and Alliance Capital.

The combined firm will service 10 of the top 50 US banks, four of the top 10 brokerage firms, and several of the industry's leading credit card issuers. InteliData says its potential user base now exceeds 100 million customers, with more than one million active users today.

"This transaction significantly broadens our product suite and technology competency and increases our intellectual capital," says Al Dominick, president and CEO of InteliData.

He says that by adding Home Account's Statement Rendering, Bill Presentment and Bill Payment application with its real-time interface to First Data Corp.'s credit card processing system, InteliData becomes a significant Biller Services Provider (BSP), and will realise immediate revenue in the credit card processing channel.

Commenting on the transaction, Scott Smith, equity research analyst at Lehman Brothers - which advised Intelidata on the deal - says: "In 2000, financial institutions sought to build Internet banking products following the apparent success of models like Wingspanbank.com. Unfortunately, some of these models stumbled, leaving many institutions wondering what approach would best serve their retail customers. This year we expect to see a second wave evolution in Internet banking and EBPP, creating new opportunities for companies like InteliData."

To be effective, companies will need to develop in-depth expertise and fully integrated products, he says, adding that the combination of InteliData and Home Account Network "should be well positioned to win new business".