BROOKFIELD, Wis.–Billing organizations are experiencing a surge in mobile visits as consumers use mobile devices for more activities, including payments.
According to new research commissioned by Fiserv, visits to biller websites from mobile devices grew 42% over the past year and now make up 24% of all website visits. During these visits, bill payment is the number one activity, followed by bill views and customer self-service.
The Fourth Annual Biller Mobile Bill Pay Benchmark Study examines the progression of mobile bill payment and billers' approaches to mobile bill pay and presentment (MBPP). The study shows an evolution of the relatively young mobile bill pay market, with the capability now offered by more mid-sized and small billers.
Data from more than 130 billing organizations in various industries, including utilities, insurance, telecom and financial services, revealed the following insights, according to Fiserv:
- Fifty-four percent of billers now offer mobile bill payment to their customers with 23% set to deploy in the next six to 12 months. This marks an increase of 40% in the number of billers currently offering the service, compared to 2014.
- Forty-two percent of billers believe increased mobile billing and payment usage will significantly increase the adoption of paperless e-billing and payments. Increased e-bill adoption can reduce related postage costs. The growing use of the mobile channel also positions billers to meet consumer demand for timely notifications, late payment warnings and customer self-service capabilities.
- Seventy-eight percent of billers surveyed expect mobile bill pay and presentment to drive growth of credit, debit and prepaid card-funded payments.
Meanwhile, consumers expect billers to provide multiple ways to pay a bill with a mobile device and to accept multiple payment options. Providing a seamless bill pay experience across devices is crucial, according to the survey, which found:
- Eighty-three percent of billers say the use of responsive design, which ensures the presentation of information is suited to the device, is an important priority. Additionally, customers expect billers to be more proactive, with 59% expecting reminders such as bill due alerts.
- Forty-four percent of billers are now offering bill due alerts, with 16% set to deploy in the next six to 12 months.
Billers are growing more comfortable with the implementation of mobile technology. As this occurs, billers now list their top concerns as ensuring the security of transactions, followed by the cost of mailing paper bills and regulation and compliance requirements, such as PCI compliance, associated with an uptick in card-funded payments, Fiserv reported.
A white paper, “Mobile Billing and Payment: Consumer Preferences and Billers—Strategic Response,” is available for download at https://www.fiserv.com/biller-mobile. The white paper highlights the survey findings with additional insights on consumer behavior and recommendations for billers.
For additional information: TheSpeedofLife.com.