Online Bank To Offer Broadband

Computerworld - USABancShares.com Inc. plans to officially launch its broadband service within the next few weeks as a means of differentiating itself from other Internet banks.
The service, which has been live for a month, offers customers all the usual bank functions - plus sound and video.
"The quality of information we can provide is more extensive and much more customizable than in a narrowband platform," said bank President and CEO Ken Tepper.
The Philadelphia-based bank will seek partnerships with broadband providers, Tepper added. "We're the only alternative," he said. "We're the only bank to offer a broadband experience."
USABancShares.com has already struck a deal with Santa Clara, Calif.-based Yahoo Inc. that gives the bank access to the portal company's broadband customers. The agreement also gives USABancShares customers access to Yahoo's FinanceVision, an interactive financial network based in Silicon Valley.
Broadband has high potential as a vehicle to provide customer service and sell complex financial products, said Richard Bell, an analyst at TowerGroup in Needham, Mass.
USABancShares' broadband service puts more technological pressures on the banking industry. This summer, a few banks began rolling out wireless banking services. Now, they'll have to go to broadband to keep up.
"I think eventually, virtually all banks with Internet functionality will follow suit," Bell said.
There are almost 3 million broadband subscribers in the U.S., according to Telecommunications Reports International Inc. in Washington.
"We see a sizable market for us," said Tepper, who added that he'd be happy with a couple million customers. However, he said the bank isn't betting the farm on broadband.

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