Most consumers are aware of electronic bill payment and an increasing number
are now interacting with businesses electronically, according to a report from Santa Clara, Calif.-based Netroscope, an Internet market research
and consulting firm.
However, although 96% of consumers surveyed have heard about electronic bill
presentment and payment, only 18% are currently paying some of their bills
electronically.
Twenty-seven percent of surveyed consumers said they plan to pay bills electronically within
the next 12 months and 34% said they do not plan to pay bills electronically
in the foreseeable future.
According to the Netroscope survey, convenience, ease of access, billing
information management and retrieval, reduction in late/delinquency rate, and
money and time savings are perceived advantages of electronic bill presentment
and payment by consumers.
“By carefully evaluating the EBPP approaches, and considering balanced
customer, bank and biller perspectives, financial organizations can help
minimize risks and maximize opportunities for these three principal
constituencies involved in the billing and payment process,” said Byron Patra,
senior analyst at Netroscope.
“By offering integrated services, tools and financial software, organizations
can position themselves to up-sell and cross-sell products in the context of
addressing their customers’ specific needs…”
“Many roadblocks to EBPP’s success exist today,” Patra said. “Considering the
current adoption rates for billers, banks, and consumers, there will be only a
modest increase in EBPP in 1999. However, the advantages of EBPP are so
compelling that we anticipate an ‘explosive’ surge after 2000.”
The report titled, “Electronic Bill Payment and Presentment: Real
Opportunities and Threats” examines the key factors that contribute to a
successful EBPP adoption, identifies potential market opportunities, discusses
bill presentment and payment integration approaches, evaluates various
technology components, and identifies the missing opportunities for both banks and billers in customer profiling, billing standards, and new services. The study is priced at $495.