Account aggregation service

HOME > Press Release > April 7, 2003

April 7, 2003

Plala Networks, Inc.

Provision of new “ISP Info” content to be initiated through Agurippa account aggregation service--Account aggregation becomes more useful for Internet users!

From Monday, July 7, Plala Networks, Inc. (Koji Bandou, CEO; HQ: Toshima-ku, Tokyo) will begin offering various information from their Internet provider “Plala” (http://www.plala.or.jp/) through account aggregation service Agurippa (※1) (http://agurippa.com/) which they provide as an application service provider.

１．Background

With its main features being flexible customization that is responsive to client usage, and thorough security management, Agurippa has over 20 information source companies (content partners) and is Japan’s largest account aggregation service by number of registered users and accounts. Agurippa already provides aggregation services for many corporate websites with Japan Net Bank’s JNB Aggregation (http://www.japannetbank.co.jp/) and NTT-X, Inc.’s goo Passbook and Statements Service (http://payj.goo.ne.jp/charge/aa_top.jsp) utilizing Agurippa.

Until now, Agurippa has mostly aggregated the financial services, billing and e-commerce functions of banks and securities companies. In the case of JNB Aggregation, it was targeted at a demographic with an extremely high level of IT training and sensitivity to asset management. In the case of the goo Passbook and Statements Service, an effort was made to expand the service to include the home user, and good progress is being made toward increasing user numbers and raising brand recognition.

According to Plala’s user survey, ISP information ranked the highest on a list of content that clients wished to use (or thought would be convenient) in an account aggregation service, demonstrating the underlying needs of the customer. Going forward, the provision of ISP information as content beginning with Plala can be considered a necessity for account aggregation as an online service and will surely further enhance the service.

２．About the provision of Plala ISP information

From the Monday, April 7, various information from Plala ISP will be added to the Agurippa content. On the same day, Plala ISP information will also be included in the Plala Aggregation section of the e-commerce site “Plala Paradise For You” (http://plapara.com/).

More than 1.6 million ‘Plala’ members will be able to not only view other financial portfolios but, with the use of an account aggregation username and password, will also be able to bring up a list of usage fees and a connection history for VoIP (IP Telephony) use. Commencing with Plala Aggregation, Plala ISP information will be provided on additional aggregation sites that utilize Agurippa.

【Plala Aggregation】　http://agurippa.com/plala/

３．Additional Benefits of adding ISP Information

Account aggregation services require a Website, and it is assumed that the user already has a contract with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Most ISP user fees are paid either by credit card or bank transfers, making it a lot of trouble to check the cost each time. In recent years more and more internet service providers also offer Voice over IP (VoIP) services and it is predicted that in many cases the charges for VoIP calls will be invoiced along with the ISP user charges. Along with the infiltration of broadband, ISP information has become a part of daily life. Being able to list this kind of information easily would greatly increase the usability of the service.

４．Additional Information

As a first step toward the provision of ISP Information, Plala has begun providing its content. In response to user demand, they have also requested other Internet service providers to provide similar information. The next step is to encourage the various ISP’s to implement Agurippa so that users can access ISP contracts, VoIP, e-mail, and aggregation services at one convenient location.

As part of its expaned features, they have introduced an Alert Feature which sends a notification e-mail to the user when certain conditions pre-set by the user are met. They have also set-up an Auto Login Feature which utilizes authentification information registered by the user to allow automatic login to the sites of various companies. These two features are already in use on the goo Passbook and Statements Service site, providing an improved service to users.

【Agurippa Homepage】　http://agurippa.com/

■For additional information please contact
　Plala Networks, Inc. Account Aggregation Promotion Office
E-mail:agurippa@plala.co.jp

(※１)Agurippa Account Aggregation Service
Account aggregation services allow clients to access the online information of various services such as the financial services of their banks, securities companies, and credit card companies as well as e-commerce and point-reward programs in a single list on one site. Once the client has registered the username and password for each separate service on the aggregation site, the client can automatically access each site, and site information can be checked with ease. Additional services making use of the convenience of account aggregation are expected to appear in the future.
Agurippa refers to the provision of the INFOBOND account aggregation system developed by NTT East, Inc. by Plala Networks as an application service provider.