Bank One Signs Alliance Agreement

Microsoft has announced a three-year alliance with Bank One, the sixth-largest bank holding company and largest Visa card issuer in the United States, giving it a major advertiser for MSN and a new marketing channel for its bCentral and .NET Alerts services.

Bank One will participate in the MSN Advantage advertising program, gaining heavy promotion on MSN Money and other MSN properties. (See “New Ad Partner Program Launched” on page 18 of the Oct. 2001 Update.) Additionally, Microsoft Great Plains resellers will offer Bank One’s commercial services, such as merchant banking accounts, providing the bank with a new sales channel into the elusive but lucrative mid-sized business market.

In exchange, Bank One will pay Microsoft an undisclosed sum, promote MSN Internet Access, and offer bCentral services through its Web site. Bank One will also use .NET Alerts to notify customers of relevant information—for example, messages about unusual account activity or reminders several days before a bill is due. This could increase Microsoft’s audience for future fee-based services such as .NET Presence, which will help route alerts to the right user location.