Microsoft Money gets show of support
Microsoft signed up 58 financial institutions to support its Microsoft Money financial software.
Among the national and international banks supporting Microsoft Money will be First Interstate, Barclay's Bank, Wells Fargo, Union Bank, and Hong Kong Shanghai Bank. A number of bank processors and banking-software vendors also said they would build services for banks using Microsoft Money, including Edify, Visa Interactive, and Checkfree.
The show of support follows Microsoft's announcement of its online banking strategy in March, when the company proposed a new specification, called Open Financial Connectivity, designed to help banks connect to consumers over private lines and the Internet.
Banking services for Microsoft Money will be available around the time the next version of the application ships this summer, said Matt Cone, Microsoft's business development manager.
Since its efforts to acquire financial software giant Intuit were derailed by the Justice Department last May, Microsoft has been investing its energies in making Microsoft Money a front-end application for online banking services. Intuit has similar deals with banking and financial institutions for its Quicken personal finance software.
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