NOVATO, CA--(Marketwire - August 19, 2008) -
ClairMail,
Inc., the leader in 2-way mobile phone-based customer interaction,
today announced that
Alerus
Financial, a Midwestern-based financial services company offering
banking and wealth management services, selected ClairMail to power its new
mobile banking offering --
Alerus Mobile
Access.
Alerus Mobile Access will
enable
Alerus Financial bank customers to connect to their accounts via
text messaging
(SMS) or mobile web. The service is free to all Alerus customers and
allows users to access any Alerus account, including checking, savings,
money market, CDs and loans. Customers will be offered a host of secure
banking capabilities and alerts on their mobile phones through ClairMail's
secure solution.
ClairMail is the first and only mobile banking and payments solution that
delivers
2-way mobile banking functionality on all mobile phones and across all
three mobile user interface types -- messaging, mobile web and client
applications -- known as the "2-way triple play." On one platform with a
single implementation, the ClairMail System seamlessly and securely
integrates with a bank's systems of record and provides bank customers with
a comprehensive suite of 2-way mobile banking and payment services.
The
ClairMail System's modular
design and complete 2-way mobile banking services will enable Alerus
Financial customers to access account information and conduct transactions
by leveraging any mobile phone's existing messaging software and mobile web
capabilities -- regardless of the device's manufacturer, model, operating
system or wireless carrier.
The ClairMail System also features a powerful Event Engine, which can
process hundreds of thousands of transactions every minute from Alerus
Financial's back-end systems and enable customer-defined 2-way actionable
alerts. The ClairMail Event Engine offers a broad set of alerts that Alerus
Financial customers can opt-in to receive, including alerts when balances
get low, a check clears, a withdrawal exceeds a customer-defined dollar
amount, a statement is available and confirmations for deposits or
withdrawals. The ClairMail Event Engine empowers Alerus Financial to
provide these time-sensitive, 2-way alerts which their customers can
respond to with a simple text message in order to easily and securely
resolve issues and manage all aspects of their personal finances from their
mobile phone.
"We understand our customers' needs for immediate, accurate and secure
information about their finances and Alerus' mission has always been to
serve in our customers' best interests," said Randy Newman, President
and CEO of Alerus Financial. "That is why we empower our customers with
complete and intuitive 2-way mobile banking and payments on any mobile
phone using ClairMail's comprehensive and secure platform for mobile
banking transactions."
Alerus Financial provides banking and wealth management services to
customers across the United States. With offices in North Dakota and
Minnesota, this independent and locally owned multibillion-dollar financial
services company is one of the largest and oldest independent financial
services organizations in the upper Midwest.
"ClairMail is pleased to team with Alerus Financial to quickly and easily
provide our industry-leading suite of secure, convenient and on-demand
2-way mobile banking services to all of their customers," said
Joseph Salesky, CEO
of ClairMail. "2-way mobile banking is the key driver for providing value
to customers and accelerating adoption."
ClairMail was recently recognized as a leader in the mobile banking and
payments industry by TowerGroup, a financial services research firm.
ClairMail was positioned as having the highest strategic extensibility of
any vendor and one of the best market execution ratings given its recently
announced partnerships with Fidelity National Information Services and
Wausau and agreements reached with major bank customers in the United
States.
About ClairMail
ClairMail optimizes any mobile phone for 2-way customer interaction. Only
the ClairMail System offers mobile banking and payments applications that
utilize any phone's existing messaging and mobile web software and extend
the capabilities of third-party client applications. On one platform with a
single implementation, ClairMail empowers financial institutions to provide
their customers with easy and immediate 2-way access to secure information,
account management, no-hold customer service and Actionable Alerts™.
Unlike other proprietary and inflexible point solutions, the ClairMail
System is a turnkey, standards-based offering that seamlessly and securely
integrates with existing systems, delivers the fastest time to value and
provides an alternative to more costly channels like call centers and IVR.
Founded in 2004, ClairMail is headquartered in Novato, Calif. The company
is privately held and funded by Norwest Venture Partners, Outlook Ventures
and JAFCO Ventures. For more information call (415) 884-7270 or visit
www.clairmail.com.
About Alerus Financial
Alerus Financial provides local, personal and accessible banking to
customers in the North Dakota Red River Valley. The independent and
locally owned financial services company lists total bank assets of $700
million, with another $7 billion in trust assets under management and $325
million in brokerage assets. It is one of the largest and oldest
independent financial services organizations in the upper Midwest. For more
information, visit
www.alerusfinancial.com or call (800) 279-3200.
Contact Information: Contact:
Gavin Skillman or Jeremy Frank
LaunchSquad for ClairMail
(212) 564-3665
ClairMail@launchsquad.com