"We believe that consumers will continue to conduct more and more of their financial activities online," said Geoff Knapp, vice president, Online Banking & Consumer Insights, Fiserv. "Online banking and bill payment is a free service, and a convenient and environmentally friendly way to bank. Consumers are actively becoming fans of the user-friendly, secure services financial institutions are implementing."
Benefits of Online Bill Payment
The survey examined the reasons people choose to pay bills online and determined that the leading benefits are:
- Speed – 79 percent of consumers said that they preferred to pay bills online because it was faster than other payment methods.
- Ease of Use – 72 percent of consumers said paying online was easier than paying by check.
- Cost Savings – 71 percent of consumers said they liked saving money on stamps.
- Control – 71 percent of consumers said that paying bills online gave them more control over the timing of their payments.
Environmental Concerns Drive Use of Paperless E-Bills
While any bill can be paid online, regardless of how it is received, a growing number of consumers are also adopting paperless electronic bills (e-bills). E-bills contain the same information as a typical paper bill, but are delivered directly to a consumer’s online banking account or a company website. According to the survey, 24 percent of consumers who pay bills online also receive at least one bill online each month, up from 22 percent last year.
Fifty-eight percent of e-bill recipients said that environmental impact was either important or very important in their decision to view and pay bills online, up from 51 percent last year.
Consumers also cited convenience and clutter reduction as reasons to receive their bills online. Fifty seven percent of consumers said they had lost a paper bill in the mail, while 64 percent admitted to losing a paper bill in their own home – inconveniences that many indicated made them receptive to receiving paperless e-bills online.
Impact on Relationship with Financial Institution
According to the survey, consumers who pay bills online at a bank website are more likely to continue banking with their bank, as well as encourage others to join their bank.
- 49 percent of consumers who use online bill pay said they are less likely to switch banks due to their experience, up from 43 percent last year.
- 67 percent of online bill pay users would recommend their bank to a friend or relative.
- Over a period of three months, 38 percent of online bill pay users recommended the service to others. Those recommending the service did so an average of two times.
Proving the power of a personal recommendation, the bank branch was cited as the most influential source of information leading to enrollment in online bill payment.
Impact on Relationship with Billing Company
Similarly, electronic billing and payment helps improve customer satisfaction and retention with the company from which the bill is received. Consumers receiving a bill electronically at their bank are 30 percent less likely to leave the company from which they receive the e-bill. Additionally, customers receiving an e-bill at the company’s own website are 28 percent less likely to leave. Importantly, customers receiving e-bills via their bank continue to visit the company website—56 percent of them go to the biller’s site six or more times annually. Billing organizations can thus reap the cost-savings and customer loyalty benefits of delivering e-bills to financial institution sites, while maintaining a strong branded relationship with the many bank e-bill customers who will continue visiting the company’s own site.
