WILMINGTON, DEL. - Juniper Financial, the online banking venture started by Bank One Corp. veterans Richard W. Vague and James Stewart, will announce today that it has formed an alliance with Mail Boxes Etc. that will let Juniper's future customers make deposits at the mailing company's franchise offices.
Account holders at Juniper, which is to be up and running this fall, would be able to send noncash deposits by overnight mail at nearly any Mail Boxes Etc. branch without paying postage costs. The arrangement is meant to solve a problem that plagues online banks - how to let customers deposit funds quickly and safely.
"Up to this point, online banking has been limited in part because it has been difficult to make a deposit, which is a basic step in your banking life," said Mr. Vague, chief executive officer of Juniper. "We want to make banking as simple as possible for our customers, so we are looking for creative solutions to fit our customers' needs."
Juniper customers will be able to track their payments' shipping progress at the bank's Web site or at any Mail Boxes Etc. location.
The online banking service was announced in May by Juniper's founders, Mr. Vague, the former chairman and chief executive officer at First USA, and Mr. Stewart, the former chief executive officer and president of WingspanBank.com.
The alliance announcement, originally scheduled for Thursday, was pushed up in part because one of Juniper's competitors plans to announce a similar agreement with Mail Boxes Etc. that day.
