Tech Bytes: Home Financial Network Adds Payment Processor

Home Financial Network Inc. has announced an agreement for bill payment processing with Princeton Telecom Corp.

Home Financial has developed several remote banking software products that attempt to mimic the ease of use of automated teller machines. The products will be available at the end of February, said Tom Dittrich, vice president of marketing.

Princeton Telecom is a 12-year-old processing company that provides electronic bill payment services for banks like Wells Fargo & Co., KeyCorp, and BankAmerica Corp.

"They like our front-end software and they want to be able to offer it to their customers," Mr. Dittrich said of Princeton Telecom. "They want to make it part of their portfolio as they go out and talk to other banks, and also to utilities and other nonbanks."

Home Financial is also marketing its products directly to banks for use with other processors.

"We are vendor-neutral," Mr. Dittrich said. "We are not going to steer people one way or another." If banks have an existing relationship, it may make sense for that to continue, he said.

"If they do not have an existing relationship, we will say we are hooked up to Visa Interactive, Checkfree, and Princeton Telecom."

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