Wheelings & Dealings: Intuit Will Purchase Check Inc. This Year

Earlier this year there was a report in the Wall Street Journal suggesting that Intuit (News - Alert) was interested in acquiring Check’s mobile payment business. We all know Intuit Inc. as the American software company that develops financial and tax preparation software and related services for small businesses, accountants and individuals. I’m sure that everyone has seen their commercials during tax time.

A little over a year ago there was a company called Pageonce, this was later changed to Check. Last year the company’s CEO, Steve Shultz said, “When we started the company, the name Pageonce made sense. We were an aggregator of a person’s financial data — putting it all on one page. But we are now a different company. We are the only app that combines personal finance features and payments on a mobile device. It’s a great value proposition.”

When Check was formed as a company in 2007, it started as an online service where people could manage all of their bank accounts, social-networking profiles, shopping carts and other Internet profiles. Last year along with a name change it pared that down to focus on tracking personal finances and paying bills through the use of mobile phones. According to the company, its app is used by more than 10 million people.

There is some question as to Intuit’s interest since the service appears to duplicate at least some of what Inuit received when it acquired a company called Mint for $170 million in 2009. Over the past few years, Intuit has been expanding its offerings by way of acquisitions. In 2013 the company purchased document service DocStoc, tax-return helper GoodApril and small-business scheduling tool FullSlate.

Barry Saik, who is senior vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Consumer Ecosystem Group, said “Intuit started when founder Scott Cook wanted a better way to balance the family checkbook. Our commitment to solving important personal finance problems is steadfast. By joining with Check, we continue to address consumer needs and are taking the next step in the evolution of personal finance capabilities.”

We are reaching a period where more individuals are becoming very comfortable with mobile commerce—beginning to use smartphones daily for purchases, mobile payments and basically accomplish every day financial tasks. According to an Aite Group report, last year saw more than 14.7 billion bills in the U.S. taken care of through a mobile device.

Guy Goldstein, who is the company’s CEO and co-founder, said “Mobile is a key driver of bill pay opportunities. We look forward to merging our talent, mobile mindset and spirit of innovation with Intuit to build products that delight consumers and become a part of their everyday financial lives.”

Assuming there are no unforeseen problems, it is expected that the transaction will be finalized in the Q4 2014. This is of course, subject to the expiration of applicable regulatory waiting periods and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. The acquisition is valued at somewhere around $360 million which includes cash and several other considerations that have not been made public at this time.