Wachovia, LINK2GOV Form E-Gov Alliance

By Gail Repsher, Staff Writer


JUNE 29 ? Wachovia Merchant Services LLC and LINK2GOV Corp. announced June 28 they have entered into an alliance to provide consumers and businesses with Internet and interactive voice response solutions for transacting business with federal, state and local government agencies.


Wachovia Merchant Services of Alpharetta, Ga., will provide payment processing technologies for LINK2GOV contracts in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.


Nashville, Tenn.-based LINK2GOV provides electronic solutions that enable citizens and businesses to complete transactions with government over the Internet or telephone, such as driver's license and vehicle registration renewals and payments of traffic tickets, utilities and taxes.


"The Internet is redefining how government interacts with its constituents, and we believe this alliance is positioned to play a leading role in driving this transition," said Richardson Roberts, LINK2GOV president and chief executive officer.


Under the alliance, the companies will provide Internet- and telephone-based solutions, multipayment commerce solutions and systems integration to link federal, state and municipal governments to citizens and businesses.


"We believe this new alliance has a significant opportunity to build on the strengths of each company," Richardson said. "LINK2GOV has demonstrated its ability to design, implement and operate sophisticated Internet and [interactive voice response] systems that improve citizen and business access to government, while lowering costs. In addition to the strong brand names and sales strength of its parent companies, Wachovia Merchant Services will provide the alliance with state-of-the-art payment processing technologies."