CheckFree sees the value of telephone banking - Gillis comes out of the closet.

by Art Gillis

Nine years ago when everything in banking looked like it was going to happen on the Internet, I hid in the proverbial closet. I didn't believe it, and I was quite happy with my own banking habits, but I didn't want Bill Gates to call me a dinosaur. So I hid in the closet. Today, I use 13 of the 14 channels in retail banking. But I won't put my money and ID on the Internet. So when Peter Kight stated his support for telephone banking in an American Banker story on 1/26/06, I knew he had released me from the bondage of unmonetary Internet usage. And I admire Mr. Kight's words like, "I clearly made a mistake six years ago when I looked at telephone bill payment and thought Internet payments are going to replace telephone payments." I can think of a CEO in Houston today who won't have the guts to use words like "I clearly made a mistake." Thanks, Mr. Kite. Your stockholders will love your open mind.