Major Banks, Tech Firms Form Joint Venture

Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and two technology companies said they formed a joint venture to streamline online payments between businesses, as part of a push to handle the flood of money crossing the Internet. Software maker I2 Technologies Inc., financial services software provider S1 Corp. and Enron Broadband Services, a bandwidth services provider and unit of gas company Enron Corp., also are part of deal. Financial terms were not disclosed. The new company, known as FinancialSettlementMatrix.com, will link buyers and sellers in electronic marketplaces with payment processing, credit and other services through participating banks.