To this arrangement, CheckFree brought familiarity with payment systems and the ability to execute electronic payments, especially by credit card and checking account. And through its automated clearing house, CheckFree was able to handle large payment volumes with an economy of scale. CyberCash, on the other hand, offered CheckFree a secure online payment infrastructure and the ability to handle micropayments. Together, in the Fall of 1995, CheckFree and CyberCash offered their first cobranded product. In January 1996, the two companies agreed to jointly promote digital certificates for online financial transactions.
Digital certificates enable banks and online merchants to authenticate a consumer's identity.
CyberCash agreed to equip its Wallet system with the ability to store and use VeriSign 's Digital IDs. The group planned to explore marketing strategies, service applications and other Internet-related business issues. In May 1996, AOL began to build its own secure electronic commerce platform by licensing technologies from CyberCash , IBM , VeriSign and others. CyberCash was also concerned with promoting their services globally. That same month, CyberCash and Point Scandinavia AS, Sweden's leading provider oftechnology for electronic transaction services, allied to introduce the first secure electronic commerce systems for the Scandinavian markets and to build a consortium of financial institutions, merchants, and Internet service providers for electronic commerce.