Vertigo Development Group Inc. has developed software designed to help banks sell mutual funds and insurance over the Internet.
The software, One on One Banking, uses a consumer's personal financial information as the basis for recommending investment and insurance options.
"Personalization is essential to transforming bank services from a commodity to a value-added proposition," said Robert Rosen, chief executive officer of Cambridge, Mass.-based Vertigo.
"As customers start to benefit from specific, individualized financial solutions, they are more likely to consult the program on a regular basis."
One on One can be bank-branded, and is designed to complement personal financial software packages such as Intuit Inc.'s Quicken and Microsoft Corp.'s Money.
Internet users can download the software by clicking on a button at participating banks' World Wide Web sites.
After manually inputting or importing basic financial data from their personal finance software, users get suggestions about savings targets, debt reduction, and bank products that can help them meet their financial goals.
A handful of top-20 banks are preparing to offer the software on their Web sites in early 1997, Mr. Rosen said.
Though he declined to name the banks, he said his company was in discussions with Fleet Financial Group Inc., which holds an equity stake in Vertigo.
For banks, the software's best benefit would be leading customers to expand their banking relationships.
Although consumers' financial information remains on their home computers, they can obtain up-to-date information about the value of their investments after every visit to the bank's Web site.
"You provide the customer with a reason to bundle more of their household balance sheet with you," said Douglas B. Stotz, director of corporate strategy at Fleet.
"This provides more revenue enhancement through a bigger share of the wallet. It is a level of personalized expertise that formally was achievable only by middle- and upper-income households."
Although no contracts have been signed, Mr. Stotz said Fleet may try to integrate Vertigo's on-line financial adviser into Meca Software's Managing Your Money or the Integrion Financial Network. Fleet has an equity stake in each of those offerings.
In addition to the above-mentioned capabilities, One on One Banking provides banks with the ability to host electronic mail discussion groups which give customers on-line access to bank representatives.
By providing this access, banks can provide customer service and sales services over the same delivery channel.
After the adviser counsels a customer on investing in an individual retirement account, for example, the user can click on a button downloading information about the bank's product offerings in that area. If desired, the user could then authorize an investment on-line.
"The mark of a great salesperson is that the customer leaves thinking that 'this person helped me solve my problem,'" said Mr. Rosen. "That is the experience we are trying to capture in the product."
Vertigo Development Group was founded in 1991 by former employees of the Lotus software company. Among its other product lines is consumer multimedia software, including a mutual fund selector and a retirement planner with Dow Jones.
