CheckFree relentlessly pursued strategic alliances that would expand its EBPP range and increase its client base. In a period of four months (from December 1999 through March 2000), CheckFree acquired or allied with BlueGill Technologies, Derivion and TransPoint. Like the agreement with Yahoo! in October 1999, these alliances were intended to plug the gaps in CheckFree’s offering toward a true end-to-end service that would link billers, consumers, and financial institutions via a single network.