WASHINGTON - Promontory Interfinancial Network LLC is teaming up with the online certificate of deposit giant QwickRate to expand Promontory's popular Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service.

Promontory, founded in 2002 by former comptroller of the currency Eugene Ludwig and others, said CDARS for QwickRate will go live today on QwickRate's Web site. The service will provide QwickRate's member banks with both a brokered and nonbrokered source of deposits.

"We're hoping to bring an additional source of liquidity to our banks, and to diversify their funding sources," QwickRate managing partner Shawn O'Brien said in an interview Wednesday. Promontory announced the partnership Thursday.

Banks use QwickRate to sell CDs to one another and post their rates. The Marietta, Ga., company says it has 1,600 financial institutions as customers.

The partnership will give Promontory members access to QwickRate's online national deposit base and the technology to provide its customers with faster service.

On the other side, CDARS (pronounced cedars) lets QwickRate customers buy large blocks of CDs from one bank.

Despite insurance regulations that cap CD protection at $100,000, CDARS is able to guarantee Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protection for deposits of up to $10 million by placing them at multiple banks.

For example, if a depositor goes to Bank A with $200,000, Bank A accepts $100,000 and puts the rest with Bank B through CDARS. Bank B will reciprocate by putting $100,000 from another customer with Bank A.

Now banks will be able to post these rates online, through QwickRate.

Also last week, CDARS gained a "preferred-service" endorsement from the Independent Community Bankers of America. The service has a similar endorsement from the American Bankers Association.

Gary Teagno, the ICBA's executive vice president, said community banks benefit from the additional source of liquidity provided by the Promontory service.

"It gives them an ability to diversify their funding," Mr. Teagno said. "It may help them attract some deposits they might not otherwise."

Mark Jacobsen, Promontory's president and chief operating officer, said the ICBA's support will strengthen his company's relationship with community banks.

"Community banks have always been the bread and butter of our service," Mr. Jacobsen said in an interview. "We're just delighted to have their cooperation."