nFront strategic alliance

nFront(TM), Inc. (Nasdaq: NFNT) (www.nfront.com), a leading outsource provider of Internet banking services for small- to mid-size financial institutions, today announced a strategic alliance with Advantage(R) Payroll Services to offer integrated payroll services to small businesses throughout the country. Auburn, Maine-based Advantage, the fifth largest payroll processor in the United States, was named by an independent review organization as the "first choice" among payroll services nationwide for businesses with 1-100 employees. Atlanta-based nFront provides its bank customers the enabling technology and marketing support for comprehensive Internet banking services. APS-Online, Advantage's new Internet Payroll product, will be integrated with nFront's nBusiness(TM) cash management service and delivered via the banks' Internet banking sites. APS-Online will be activated from within nBusiness when end-users click on the "Advantage Payroll" tab. "nFront's complete Internet banking solution enables banks to become primary Internet financial destinations for their customers to manage their financial relationships and responsibilities. A cornerstone of this strategy is to forge partnerships with key providers of financial services. This alliance with Advantage Payroll, the premier provider of true Internet payroll processing, exemplifies how this strategy can pay off handsomely for banks and their customers," said Tripp Rackley, nFront chairman and CEO. "As a dynamic, multi-faceted payroll processing company, Advantage seeks partners that share our commitment to the Internet as the future of transaction-based commerce," said Charles W. Lathrop, Jr., President and CEO of Advantage. "Through our alliance with nFront, we gain access to banks that are in the vanguard of bringing e-commerce to small businesses." According to Lathrop, Advantage Payroll's service is distinguished by its unique ability to accept customer-entered data via the Internet rather than by phone, fax or batch entry. Other providers claiming to provide Internet payroll processing typically offer only summary reports via the Internet, he said. In addition, Advantage offers businesses the option to submit 401(k) payments and Workman's Comp payments every pay period instead of requiring single, lump-sum payments required by many payroll processors. The integration of APS-Online and nBusiness is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2000. nFront and Advantage will offer incentives for banks to offer payroll services to their business Internet banking customers. The companies will also work together to develop promotional and co-branded marketing efforts.