Bank of America
www.bankamerica.com

A new trend. BofA uses banner advertising on its own site. This banner is for home equity financing.

Bank of America (San Francisco, CA; $250 billion; 10.5 million ATM cards) rolled out its PC banking services in Texas June 2. The Texas version differs from the California program in one key attribute: price. In Texas, BofA joins the giveaway bandwagon offering free-of-charge online account access and optional bill payment for $5.95/month. In California, account access and bill payment are bundled together for $6.50/month, though direct deposit and package account customers can get both free-of-charge.

At this time, BofA Texas customers are limited to the dial-up banking via MECA’s Managing Your Money. BofA jointly owns MECA along with five other financial institutions. MYM software costs $4 until August 15, when it increases to $9.95. BofA’s Web encourages Texas customers to sign up for a California-based checking account if they want to use Web- or AOL-based banking. Texas ATMs and branches process California account transactions seamlessly.

In other news, BofA took home top honors at the Online Banking Association annual confab, winning awards for Best Overall Online Banking Program and Best Home Banking Application. Other financial institution winners included: Beneficial National Bank, First Union, Stanford Federal Credit Union, Chase Manhattan, E*Trade, Nations Bank and Canada Trust.

Contact: At BofA Texas, John Bridger is EVP Retail Banking Manager. Jeanine Brown is EVP Interactive Banking in San Francisco, 415.622.3456.