Underdog Wins Shootout for Chase Teller Software Deal

Chase Manhattan Corp. has chosen a little-known software firm, More Inc., to provide a new computing system for 6,000 teller stations.

The decision was a windfall for Stephen S. McCampbell, who founded the 20-employee Albuquerque systems company in 1989.

"The deal is probably equal to a couple of years of our normal revenue," said Mr. McCampbell. He declined to disclose that figure or what Chase is paying.

More Inc. was among a dozen vendors-most of them giants of branch automation-that responded to Chase's 60-page request for proposals to upgrade teller operations in 600 offices.

Chase will switch from a computing system based on DOS and Unix to one that is built around Microsoft Corp.'s WindowsNT platform, Mr. McCampbell said.

A pilot is planned for later this year and full installation in early 1998.

"The technology is basically software that makes a PC on a network look like a typical teller machine," said Mr. McCampbell, whose company motto is "The customer expects More."

He said More's system reduces training time: "That was one of the goals of Chase-to make it easier for their people to all follow a common set of rules when cashing a check or making a deposit."

Robert Wilson, the New York bank's vice president for branch and retail delivery systems, said it was impressed by the "flexibility and ease of use" of More's system.

"Our project mission is to reengineer branch transaction processing and improve both customer service and teller productivity," Mr. Wilson said.

Mr. Wilson said More's software will be the backbone of Chase's Teller 2000 program, which is aimed at "improving the experience the customer has at the window" by eliminating paper and capturing all transactions electronically.

For tellers, "the new environment is basically going to be counting your cash and mapping that against electronic receipts," Mr. Wilson said.

Though the vendor selection was significant, Mr. Wilson said, technology is only one piece of a grander scheme to update and unify the teller network. "While the system is the primary enabler of what the teller does, the reengineering effort really looks at both policies and procedures," he said.

More-which to date has installed smaller systems for NationsBank Corp., Boatmen's Bancshares, and several community banks-went to great lengths to distinguish itself in the Chase bidding process.

At a time when it had only 14 people on staff, More played host to a 10- person evaluation team from Chase. The vendor hired six members of the New Mexico Gunfighters Association to stage a mock shoot-out in front of More's office.

A sheriff dressed in 1860s garb greeted the delegation, while barmaids and cowboys made mock deposits under a sign that read "Chase Bank, New Mexico Territories." After five minutes of gunplay, the Chase executives got to pose for pictures with the actors and try on their hats.

Throughout the screening process, Mr. McCampbell said, he sensed certain Chase executives were rooting for his "underdog" company. Others seemed doubtful it could pass muster against the likes of International Business Machines Corp., Digital Equipment Corp., and NCR Corp.

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