Electronic Commerce Update, August 1997 Electronic Applications

This fall as Guilford College (Greensboro, N.C.; http://www.guilford.com) students check into their dorms and exchange stories of summer jobs, they will be given a new student ID with more on it than their name and picture. The new IDs, will also be First Union smart cards, and for those students opting to open a First Union bank account, the cards can be used for ATM transactions. Smart cards feature an embedded microchip capable of storing money as electronic cash for purchasing essential collegiate items such as books, soft drinks and loads of wash at the laundromat. By reducing the amount of hard currency on campus, Guilford College will reduce its cash handling operating costs by automating many services. Guilford's ability to implement the smart card system is due in part to a $9 million investment in information technology and facility enhancement project occurring this summer. That project includes the wiring of all academic buildings and residence halls to complete the campus network and a new administrative software system to support admissions, business operations, financial aid and institutional advancement. First Union will provide Guilford students, faculty and staff with low cost/no banking services and student educational loans. It will also provide the college with discounted commercial banking services, unitrust and pooled income investment service, Visa corporate and purchasing card programs. First Union representatives said in the future, the bank will be offering students new and innovative banking products such as Off-Line Debit, Online Access and a variety of other Internet services. NewRealty.com (Palo Alto, Calif.; http://www.NewRealty.com) an online real estate network for home buyers and sellers on the Internet, announced a partnership with E-Loan for web-based discount mortgages, completing a "one-stop-shop" for home buyers and reducing overall home buying costs. Visitors are presented with simple and fast menus of home listings from many different brokerages, realtor profiles, free information about local schools, daily real estate news stories, an interactive real estate Q&A database and up-to-the-minute discounted mortgage rates available for lock and application online. E-Loan allows mortgage borrowers to access wholesale lending sources directly. Borrowers see customized mortgage quotes, side-by-side loan comparisons, loan recommendations and all of the services typically available only with a seasoned loan agent. Giftscape (Austin, Texas; http://www.giftscape.com), a new Internet service, takes a user's specifications and turns them into the perfect gift for mothers, nephews or the boss's daughter's wedding — within minutes. This unique gift recommendation service was born from its founder's frustration with conventional Internet shopping. Kristi Eckert said finding high-quality products online took too much time — particularly when shoppers are not quite sure what they were looking for. Giftscape asks questions such as who the gift is for, the occasion, the person's age and interests, the preferred price range, and then presents a list of appropriate premium-quality gifts.

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