AOL, Intuit Plan Online Service for Paying Web-Based or Paper Bills

America Online Inc., the dominant provider of consumer Internet services, and Intuit Inc. said Tuesday that early next year they would offer an online service for paying household bills.

The companies said the new bill-management service would provide consumers with a simple way to receive, view, track and pay both electronic and paper-based bills online, eliminating the tedium of check-writing and mailing bills.

Separately, Intuit posted a loss for the latest quarter that was much smaller than analysts expected, helping its shares hit a record high.

Intuit said it lost $22.6 million, or 12 cents share, in its fiscal first quarter, compared with a loss of $26.8 million, or 15 cents, a year earlier. Analysts were expecting a 19-cent loss, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.

By allowing both electronic and “hard copy” payments, the joint service distinguishes itself from existing services, which allow payment of either electronic bills or scanned paper bills or require consumers to enter payment amounts themselves.

With the new service, consumers can view their bills, transfer funds from their bank account, then hit a button on their computer screen to have payments made.

Separately, AOL said it and Net2Phone Inc., a provider of Internet-based telephone services, agreed to a two-year pact in which its CompuServe service will promote Net2Phone phone cards to its U.S. members.

AOL shares gained $3.31 to $85 on the New York Stock Exchange. Intuit rose $2.19 to $44.06 on Nasdaq.