First Virtual Holdings and First USA Offer Internet Shopping Start-Up Kit to Millions of Cardholders; Internet Shopping Start-Up Kit Makes Shopping Online Easy

Business Wire,  Feb 24, 1997  

Tags: Internet, Internet shopping

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 1997--First Virtual Holdings Incorporated (NASDAQ:FVHI), a leader in advanced communications and marketing systems for Internet commerce, and First USA (NYSE:FUS), one of the nation's leading credit card providers, have teamed up to make Internet shopping simple and secure by offering a free Internet Shopping Start-Up Kit to millions of First USA Cardmembers.

Simply by activating their VirtualPIN as detailed in the winter edition of First USA's Card Facts newsletter, Cardmembers will receive a free Internet Shopping Start-Up Kit. The kit includes a 90-day free trial VirtualPIN which assures secure online shopping by never transmitting credit card numbers over the Internet. The Kit also includes great values from Yahoo! Internet Life magazine, 1 Virtual Place and TuneUp.com.

"We expect Internet commerce to continue to increase in 1997 and want to ensure our Cardmembers have every advantage for shopping online," said Randy L. Christofferson, president of First USA Bank.

"First Virtual's Internet Payment System provides security and ease of use. Because it works through e-mail, with no new software to download and no new programs to learn, consumers can register and begin exploring online shopping immediately with the more than 3,000 merchants registered to accept VirtualPINs."

"By distributing this Internet Shopping Start-Up Kit to First USA's Cardmembers, we expect to significantly increase mindshare for VirtualPIN," said Lee Stein, CEO of First Virtual Holdings. "By partnering with a leading credit card issuer like First USA, we are adding yet another distribution channel for VirtualPINs in addition to the integration efforts we announced last month."

The Internet Shopping Start-Up Kit includes:

-- A free 90-day trial of a VirtualPIN from First Virtual Holdings;

-- Three free issues of Yahoo! Internet Life magazine, your guide to the best of the Web;

-- A free 30-day trial from TuneUp.com (www.tuneup.com), the one-stop solution on the Internet that keeps Windows 95 PCs working virus-free and running at peak performance; and

-- 15 percent off high-tech products from Casio, US Robotics and Panasonic at 1 Virtual Place (www.1virtualplace.com), one of the Internet's most eclectic and creative online shopping destinations.

The First Virtual Internet Payment System

The First Virtual Internet Payment System enables secure online transactions with the VirtualPIN, which allows consumers to make purchases on the Internet without transmitting credit card numbers online. The purchase is charged to a customer's VirtualPIN which is an alias for the buyer's credit card.

Once the transaction is confirmed by the buyer through e-mail, First Virtual Holdings charges the customer's credit card on secure, established financial networks. Sellers can also use the VirtualPIN system to easily bill renewable services such as domain registrations, magazine subscriptions and association membership fees.

About First Virtual Holdings Incorporated

Founded in March 1994, First Virtual Holdings Incorporated (NASDAQ:FVHI) is a leader in advanced communications and marketing systems for Internet commerce. Its first product, the First Virtual Internet Payment System, facilitates Internet commerce through e-mail technologies and PIN concepts, integrating seamlessly with established financial networks using universally-accepted transaction processing practices.

The company is headquartered in San Diego, Calif., with research facilities in Ann Arbor, Mich., and data center facilities in Dallas, Texas. More information about First Virtual Holdings Incorporated can be found at http://www.fv.com .

First Virtual has strategic relationships with First Data Corporation, First USA Paymentech and GE Capital Corporation.

About First USA

First USA, Inc. (NYSE:FUS) is a financial services company specializing in the credit card business and is among the largest providers of Visa and MasterCard services in the nation. First USA provides Visa and MasterCard services nationwide and had approximately 16 million credit cards issued and $22.4 billion in total loans outstanding at Dec. 31, 1996.

First USA participates in the payment processing business through its 57% interest in First USA Paymentech. On Jan. 20, 1997, BANC ONE CORPORATION and First USA jointly announced that an agreement had been reached for First USA to merge with BANC ONE. The transaction is expected to be completed by May 31, 1997. First USA maintains a site on the World Wide Web at http//www.firstusa.com . -0-

Note to Editors: VirtualPIN is a service mark of First Virtual Holdings Incorporated.

CONTACT: Alexander Communications

Amy Berk, 415/923-1660 ext.153

aberk@alexander-pr.com

COPYRIGHT 1997 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning