America First Credit Union to offer mobile banking

The 432,000 members of Utah-based America First Credit Union soon will be able to access mobile banking and payment services via their AT&T Mobility or Verizon Wireless mobile phones.
America First selected Firethorn Holdings L.L.C. and CheckFree Corp. for its mobile banking and payments service, which the credit union plans to introduce in the first quarter of 2008. The service will allow members to use their mobile phones to pay bills, check account balances, and view transaction history and transfer funds from America First accounts. America First is the 8th largest credit union in the U.S. by membership, according to the comapny.
America First “selected Firethorn based on its relationship with the nation’s two largest wireless carriers and the opportunity for the application to be pre-loaded on AT&T mobile handsets, thus increasing visibility and likelihood of adoption,” the company said. America First also cited Firethorn’s exclusive partnership with online banking and bill payment provider CheckFree; the credit union has been a CheckFree online bill payment partner since 2000.
The Firethorn mobile banking and payments application is available on AT&T Mobility devices today and will be expanded to support multiple banks later this year, according to the carrier. AT&T Mobility added that a national, multimillion-dollar joint advertising and education initiative would accompany the rollout, in partnership with financial institutions.