Spectrum
In August 1999, Wells Fargo, First Union, and Chase Manhattan banks formed Spectrum (initially called “The Exchange”) in response to CheckFree’s alliance with Yahoo!. The founding of Spectrum initiated yet another chapter in CheckFree’s evolving relationship with the banks. Spectrum aimed to maintain the banks’ position as the consumer point of contact for electronic payments. While payments were the core function of banks and they valued direct contact with consumers, banks were slow to ramp up their EBPP efforts and indeed folded their first consortium, Integrion, in March 2000.