Intuit to launch Quicken online at $3/month

BOSTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Intuit Inc (INTU.O) will launch an online service on Jan. 8 that delivers its Quicken personal finance software over Internet browsers and to Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhone, charging $3 a month for the service.

The new service from Intuit, the world's largest maker of financial software for consumers and small businesses, will store the financial data of its users on server computers, protecting communications with customers using the same kinds of technology that banks use to secure online transactions, company executives said in an interview on Tuesday.

Intuit Senior Vice President Rick Jensen told Reuters that some 14 million people currently use versions of Quicken loaded onto desktop computers and that it sells about 1.7 million new copies of that software per year.

The new online product -- which works with an Internet browser or Apple's iPhone, and does not require customers to install any software -- is designed to attract millions of younger Web-savvy consumers who generally don't use software that must be installed on a computer.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Brian Moss)

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