New stats from Checkfree indicate the pervasiveness of bill pay.

Finextra: Two-thirds of US households pay bills online – Checkfree

The survey, which tracks bill payment behavior, revealed that 69 percent of U.S. online households say they are paying at least one bill online, up from 56 percent in March 2005. This includes consumers who pay any bill from a single “consolidated” website, such as a bank, and those who pay individual bills at a “biller direct” website, such as a telecommunications or credit card company. Online payments are steadily replacing check writing as the way to pay bills among those surveyed – with paper checks used for 37.5 percent of all bill payments and online payments used for 35 percent.

Interest in subscribing to a consolidated bill payment service was also higher among households that do not currently pay bills online, with 19 percent indicating they were “definitely interested” – up from 15 percent in 2005. Among consumers who recently enrolled in a consolidated service, the most influential source of information in their decision was the bank branch, followed by the bank website and word-of-mouth recommendations. Over the past three years, the percentage of consumers citing the influential role of the branch has almost doubled.

And confirmation of the difference between attracting customers to online banking and retention once there.  Attraction is in the branch, and retention is the quality of the site.

“As paying bills online has evolved into a mainstream consumer
activity, ironically, face to face interactions such as conversations
with account managers or tellers, and brochures given out at the bank
branch, remain the most effective way to market the service,” says Matt
Lewis, executive vice president and general manager of CheckFree’s
Electronic Commerce Division. “The website must also be easy to use to
lead interested consumers through the enrollment process, then on to
making payments and receiving bills online.”

Consumers who
currently pay bills online at a consolidated site indicate the leading
benefits of the service are convenience, ease of use, control and speed
of payment. When asked to rate the most important overall benefit,
current users said paying bills online: saves paper, stamps and hassle
(28 percent); is the easiest way to pay bills (16 percent); ensures
bills are paid on the day of their choice (12 percent); and is faster
than paying by check (11 percent).

A new stat indicates the power of electronic bill presentment, by the increased customer satisfaction from that service.

61 percent of consolidated users with e-bill rated themselves as very
satisfied with online banking, versus 54 percent of consolidated users
without e-bill and 51 percent of consumers who use online banking but
do not pay bills online.

Finally, the all important reasons customers give for using the service.

Consumers who currently use e-bill selected the top three reasons why
they choose to receive electronic bills via their consolidated service
as:

1. making sure the bill is paid on time (26 percent);
2. convenience –
   just click and pay (22 percent); and
3. e-mail reminders (17 percent).

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