America First Credit Union of Ogden, Utah, is planning to offer its members mobile phone banking services using software from Firethorn Holdings LLC.
The Atlanta software vendor, which was expected to announce the agreement today, said the credit union plans to start offering the service in the first quarter of 2008.
Firethorn said its relationships with the two largest U.S. mobile carriers, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless, and the bill-pay provider CheckFree Corp. were key to winning the new contract.
Having the support of a carrier makes it easier for consumers to download and use the banking software on their mobile phones; Firethorn said AT&T plans to preload the mobile banking software on its phones.
Rick Craig, America First's president and chief executive, said in a Firethorn press release, "After researching the mobile banking and payments market and our members' needs, we concluded Firethorn's preloaded, single-sign-on solution and CheckFree's proven expertise in electronic bill payments provided the best solution for our members."
America First has more than 432,000 members and assets of $4 billion. The Firethorn mobile banking application lets users check their balances, pay bills, initiate transfers, and view account activity.
