ATLANTA and ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 29 - XPLOR INTERNATIONAL 2001 BOOTH # 2457 - CheckFree Corporation today announced that it has been awarded an additional patent by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) in the domain of electronic billing and payment (EBP) technology and processes, focusing specifically on various aspects of electronic billing. The patent, number 6,289,322, was issued to the Company on September 11, 2001. "As the key innovator and pioneer in the electronic billing and payment market, CheckFree has had patents pending in this domain since 1991. This new patent adds to CheckFree's stable of more than 100 issued, licensed and pending domestic and foreign patents in the arena of financial electronic commerce services and systems,'' said Matt Lewis, executive vice president of CheckFree Corporate Development. "CheckFree intends to use its patent portfolio to aggressively defend its leadership position in the electronic billing and payment services industry, obtained as a result of more than 20 years of experience and investment.''