AmSouth Internet Banking Upgrade Makes Service Faster and Easier to Use.

Business Editors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 2001

AmSouth Bank (NYSE: ASO) has completed the most significant upgrade of its Internet Banking software since introducing the service three years ago, making the site even easier to use and providing customers with

"Our users will quickly find that it's faster to log on and they can see more information at a glance," said Rod Woodford, AmSouth's e-Commerce director. The balances page shows a bird's-eye view of all of a customer's AmSouth accounts: checking, savings, credit cards, loans and investments. Bill payment has also been streamlined.

"Let's face it: paying bills isn't the highlight of anybody's day. We've doubled the number of bills our customers can pay at one time so they can get it out of the way even faster," Woodford said.

More than 322,000 new users have signed up since the end of February, when the bank began offering free Internet Banking for life, bringing AmSouth's total number of online customers to more than 450,000.

By the end of November, about 33 percent of AmSouth's customers with a consumer checking or savings account were signed up for Internet Banking, a rate that places it among banking industry leaders. That rate more than tripled in the past nine months as a result of all the new users.

"This upgrade includes an online `getting started guide' that will help our newer customers see how easy to use the service is, as well as more subtle improvements that our long-time customers will appreciate. In either case, the goal is the same: Make Internet Banking easy and efficient," Woodford said.

Here are some of the new features Internet Banking customers will see:

-- A consolidated "Balances" page showing all of their AmSouth accounts,
including AmSouth Investment Services account balances

-- Bill payment allows up to 10 payments on one screen

-- The log-in page is easier and faster to use

-- Expanded history for checking and savings accounts

-- One year of merchant payment history

-- Expanded options for setting up recurring payments, such as "semi-monthly"
and "last day of the month"

About AmSouth

AmSouth is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham with $38.2 billion in assets, 600 branch banking offices and more than 1,200 ATMs. AmSouth operates in Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia. AmSouth is a leader among regional banks in the Southeast in several key business segments, including consumer and commercial banking, small business banking, mortgage lending, equipment leasing, annuity and mutual fund sales, and trust and investment management services. AmSouth also offers a complete line of banking products and services at its web site, www.amsouth.com.