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		INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Q and A with Beth Robertson Trends and Strategies in Online Bill Payment As a senior analyst in the TowerGroup Global Payments practices, Beth focuses on value-added online financial services, including electronic bill presentment and payment, person-to-person payment, and other Internet payment applications for both the wholesale and retail markets. She currently serves on the Steering Committee of the NACHA Council for Electronic Billing and Payment. Q: What are the key contributing factors to the growth and acceptance of online bill payment? How can financial institutions accelerate consumer migration from just accessing account information online to bill payment? A: The key contributing factors to the growth and acceptance of online bill payment are also the means by which financial institutions can accelerate consumer migration to online bill payment. These include: Offering free online bill payment to consumers. This is a growing practice among financial institutions and includes totally free online bill payment, free to certain relationship account categories, and free for a trial period. Free online bill payment offerings have also had a demonstrable effect on the conversion rate of those who simply access account information online to paying bills online. The conversion rate to online bill payment among consumers who bank online averages 22% among the top 50 financial institutions who charge a fee for online bill payment and 38% among the financial institutions that offer the service free of charge. Improved performance. Online bill payment must meet and exceed consumer expectations. Providers can accomplish this through lower error rates, higher rates of electronic delivery, improved user interfaces, and screening of payees and account data. Education to improve consumer awareness. Bank campaigns are an effective means of consumer education, particularly those where bank staff are incented to use the services themselves so they in turn become more knowledgeable “evangelists” for the service. Prominent consumer protection and liability policies and practices. By prominently placing this information before consumers, financial institutions can ease consumer concerns about safety and paradigm change. < 1 | 2 | Next > Printer Friendly Version