DALLAS (February 15, 2000)... Brinkman Technologies, Inc. (BTI), an electronic banking and cash management technology provider, announces today that it is spinning off its NextBill electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) system as a separate company. NextBill.com will focus solely on promoting its model for a "direct e-billing" model.

BTI has transferred the technology and personnel that have been instrumental in developing and operating the NextBill system to the new company. While BTI has concentrated on developing and testing NextBill through its pilot partnership with Tucker Federal Bank in Atlanta, Georgia, NextBill.com will focus on marketing the system to utilities, telecommunications companies, Internet Service Providers, municipalities, and financial institutions.

NextBill, a pioneer in the direct model of EBPP, electronically replicates the traditional billing model, where customers receive a bill in the mail and return a paper check. With this technology, a merchant sends billing statements directly to customers as e-mail attachments (either in Word or HTML format). Customers make payment by clicking on a "Pay Bill" hyperlink to an online payment screen at the biller's Web site, where payment options can be set. The payment is then processed via the Federal Reserve's Automated Clearinghouse system.

In contrast, the "consolidator" model, where billing information is routed to a third party processor for presentment, requires consumers to visit a bill presentment Web site to find their bills and make payments. Transaction fees are assessed to the billers and banks by the third-party processor for each bill presented and payment processed. Billers using the NextBill system simply pay a one-time license fee and low monthly maintenance fees, significantly lowering the cost of the billing cycle over consolidator programs and paper-based systems.

"The EBPP industry is still young, but a recent Forrester Research report predicts that 21 million wired households will sign up for e-billing by the end of 2004," said BTI president, Mark Brinkman, who will also serve as NextBill's Chief Technology Officer. "NextBill best addresses each of the major concerns most often raised about electronic billing, including privacy issues, costs, and convenience, and we think NextBill is poised to capture a sizeable portion of that new market."

In addition to Mr. Brinkman's role with NextBill.com as CTO, other BTI employees are moving to the new company full-time for full-time positions. Bob Kantin, currently BTI's vice president of sales and marketing, will assume the same title at NextBill.com and will lead the company's sales efforts. Ryan Hodges, BTI's director of Internet development and project leader in the development of the NextBill system, will become NextBill.com's vice president of Internet technology. Several programmers and customer support personnel are also being transferred to the new entity. The announcement of the company's president and other executive positions will be made within the next few weeks.

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