Editorial Viewpoint That Which We Call “Online Bill Payment” ... Spotlight On Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union Spotlight On InCharge Institute of America NEWS REPORT Online Biller/Creditor Directory: Upgrades Make Key Asset More Valuable to Participant Operations INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Q and A With Beth Robertson		Editorial Viewpoint - By Cathleen M. Conforti That Which We Call “Online Bill Payment” ... “What's in a name” Juliet asks in Romeo and Juliet, and she immediately answers that a name is unrelated to reality: “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” True, it would still have a wonderful scent, but without a name agreed upon by all, communicating about it would be a challenge. Here at MasterCard RPPS, we know what we mean by “online bill payment,” and so do you. We mean making electronic payments to multiple billers from a financial institution's website. Our research, however, discovered that consumers have different ideas. Some defined the term as we do, but many identified it with other payment channels. This troubling reality suggests a marketing challenge for all of us in 2004: Communicate to consumers just how great it is to pay bills online via their trusted financial institution - without using the potentially confusing name “online bill payment.” You just might have to come up with a name of your own for this flower of technology. I'm sure that if we can just get the sweet scent of its convenience into consumers' noses, they won't care what you call it any more than Juliet cared about Romeo's name. So how do we go about this? First, savvy financial institutions will make online bill payment a top-line component of their service offerings, not an afterthought. Boast about your online services. Put big balloons on your website, big banners in your branches. Offer online bill payment to every new customer who walks in the door, and seriously consider offering it for free. When customers obtain a mortgage, explain how they can make recurring payments online. When consumers apply for a checking account, show them right then and there how they can pay all of their bills online - all in one place. Train your sales staff to sell it, which, in turn, means educating them about it. < 1 | 2 | Next > Printer Friendly Version