As a result, financial institutions will have the ability to completely tailor services and the user experience to individual customer segments, increasing the bank's ability to forge deeper, more profitable relationships through the online channel.

S1 Online Banking 3.7 has incorporated the latest Web 2.0 technologies to significantly improve the user experience, while at the same time significantly enhancing flexibility by separating the presentation layer from the business logic through the use of cascading style sheets. This approach will empower financial institutions to have complete control in creating a unique look-and-feel, even adding their own "skins" to tailor the online banking user experience to different groups within its customer base.

An important feature of S1 Online Banking 3.7 is the 'My Bank' landing page which displays the most commonly accessed information immediately after login for added convenience and accessibility. Validated by feedback from our customers, the 'My Bank' page presents account balances, recent and pending transactions, and the ability to make a quick transfer, all from a single page. The Info Center presents a mini-dashboard of new messages, alerts and approvals on the 'My Bank' page and other main pages. Further enhancements are navigational improvements including dropdown menus to enable quick browsing within the application, and light boxes that provide detailed information and fields for entering information without leaving the primary screen.

In addition, the new release delivers integrated personal banking and business banking on a single platform as well as Class of Service entitlements that enable banks to mix-and-match business and consumer banking and payments services, reporting capabilities, authority levels and limits. As a result, financial institutions can create truly differentiated offerings that target, in an "ala carte" approach, consumer and busineiness customers as well as any segment in between, including family banking, customers that make international payments, and affluent and mass affluent consumers among other groups.

This approach is reflective of a market shift that has taken place among mid-tier and large financial institutions who are seeking to use technology across all banking channels in combination with more personalized service to help deepen customer relationships.

"Most banks today still use siloed online banking solutions in order to target distinct customer segments," said Gwenn Bezard, research director with Aite Group, LLC. "That approach is running its course, however, as banks increasingly need better integration between their front-ends, and greater flexibility to target and segment customers without the hassle and cost of system integration. By making it easier for a bank to, for instance, transition a small business using a consumer online banking front-end to a small business online banking front-end, S1 is addressing a critical need for banks."

Fully integrated with S1 Online Banking 3.7, the optional S1 Mobile features and entitlements are extended from online banking to the mobile device, delivering both consumer and business-focused mobile functionality. Financial institutions have the flexibility to offer mobile banking and payments to select segments by turning it on using the Class of Service functionality within S1 Application Manager.

Throughout 2009, S1 Enterprise plans to continue adding new and improved functionality to S1 Online Banking 3.7 through refreshes, or minor releases. In addition to further supporting regulatory compliance directives such as International ACH Transactions (IAT) and Red Flags, product refreshes will focus on improving aspects of reporting and payments and adding customer preferences to the new user interface. Security is also a focus of continued development as we work with our customers to develop transaction-level fraud monitoring and out-of-band authorization to help institutions reduce online banking fraud for consumers and businesses alike.

"As a result of the close relationships we have with our customers, we understand they need the ability to leverage the best of the Web 2.0 user experience in conjunction with flexible technology to deliver unique services to their diverse customer segments," said Neil Underwood, General Manager, S1 Enterprise Americas - Retail Online. "S1 Online Banking 3.7 brings it all together: a flexible user experience, a single solution that integrates personal banking and business banking and the S1 Enterprise platform, which enables the powerful Class of Service entitlements that powers this tailored approach."