MICROSOFT ONLINE-BANKING STRATEGY GAINS WIDE INDUSTRY SUPPORT

Fifty-Eight Financial Institutions and 10 Solution Providers Working With
Microsoft To Provide Online-Banking Services to Consumers

REDMOND, WASH. - MAY 8, 1996 - Microsoft Corp. announced today that 58
financial institutions have committed to offering online banking using
Microsoft Money through a group of leading banking-software vendors and
banking-processing companies.

"Clearly our strategies for helping banks deliver online-banking services
to their customers have been well-received by the financial-services
industry," said Lewis Levin, general manager of the desktop finance
division at Microsoft. "We are gratified and excited by such a widespread
show of support."

Microsoft first outlined its online-banking strategy at a March briefing
for more than 200 bankers, banking-software vendors and banking
processors. The strategy is based on providing banks choice and
flexibility in building their online-banking offerings. The strategy
enables banks to work with the solution providers of their choice or build
in-house solutions to deliver services to customers via the Internet and
Microsoft Money personal-finance software, the next version of which is
scheduled to be available by late summer. The foundation for the strategy
is the recently published Open Financial Connectivity (OFC) specification,
a technical specification that supports the delivery of home-banking
services to multiple home-banking software products and back-end
solutions.

To further help banks build their online-banking services, Microsoft is
readying software-component technology for performing secure, ATM-like
transactions using popular World Wide Web browsers, including Microsoft
Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. These tools to facilitate
browser-based banking are scheduled to be available by the end of the
year. In addition, the Microsoft Windows NT Server network operating
system includes embedded support for Internet publishing, helping
facilitate an end-to-end Internet banking solution.

"Microsoft is committed to developing and deploying the core technologies
that financial institutions will require to serve the coming wave of
online customers," Levin said. "Initiatives such as OFC and browser-based
banking will let these institutions provide secure, branded services
tailored to the needs of customers."

Levin will discuss Microsoft's continuing role in online banking at a May 9
presentation to the Faulkner and Gray-sponsored Home Banking Forum at the
Wyndham Anatole Hotel in Dallas.

Financial institutions that have announced plans to deliver online services
via Money are Bank of Boston, Bank of Hawaii, Bank of Stockton,
BankAtlantic Bancorp, Barclay's Bank, Barnett Bank, Bradesco, Branch
Banking and Trust Co., Capitol Federal Savings, Centura Bank, Chase Bank,
Colonial BancGroup, Columbus Bank and Trust Co., Commerce Bancshares Inc.,
Commercial Federal Corp., Compass Bank, Corestates, Crestar, Deposit
Guaranty, First Chicago, First Federal Bank, First Hawaiian Bank, First
Interstate, First Michigan, First National Bank (Fort Collins), First
National Bank of Kansas, First National Bank of Omaha, First Technology,
First Tennessee Bank, First Union Corp., Home Savings, Hong Kong Shanghai
Bank, Laredo National Bank, M&T Bank, Marquette Bank, Mellon Bank Corp.,
Michigan National Bank, Mountain America Credit Union, Nevada State Bank,
Old Kent Financial Corp., Pentagon Federal Credit Union, PNC Bank Corp.,
Provident Savings Bank, Providian Bancorp, Regions Financial Corp.,
Republic National Bank of New York, Sanwa, Signet Banking Corp., Smith
Barney, Star Bank, Sumitomo Bank of California, Texas Commerce Bank, UMB
Bank, Union Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo, West Coast Bank and Zions Bank.

The bank processors and banking-software vendors committed to building
connectivity services to Microsoft Money include Braun, Simmons & Co.; CFI
Proservices; Checkfree Corp.; Edify; M&I Data Services; Online Resources;
Prologic Corp., ULTRADATA Corp.; Visa Interactive; and Intuit Services
Corp. Several of these companies will also use Microsoft Windows NT Server
as the foundation for their support of the OFC solution.

Microsoft Money makes the most common home-finance tasks easy. Its
integrated services let users pay bills, balance checkbooks, transfer
funds and investigate the status of their bank accounts. In very little
time, Money users can manage their personal finances more quickly,
conveniently and efficiently than ever before.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in
software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of
products and services for business and personal use, each designed with
the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take
advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
 
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