Online Bill Management Growing in Popularity in US

Online bill management, which consists primarily of online bill pay and bill presentment, has become largely popular in the US. Among Americans with internet access, a little less than three-quarters have performed at least one aspect of bill management online.

As computer ownership in recent years has become near ubiquitous, the profit potential has increased greatly for merchants who bill customers directly and third-parties (including financial institutions) who facilitate convenient online bill management.

Based on a national sample of 1,010 online consumer survey panel survey responses completed in September 2010, Mercator Advisory Group’s new report,’ Consumers and Online Bill Management’, considers Americans’ propensity towards online bill pay and presentment. Trending among various demographics (including gender, age, income, and others) regarding proclivity towards online bill management is analysed. Additionally, in response to increasing smartphone penetration in the US market, the report examines the current status of mobile bill management as a viable alternative to online bill management via a home computer.

Highlights of the report include:

• In-depth analysis of who is using online bill management, the reasons those who choose not to manage their bills online make that choice, and potential solutions to change their minds.
• Side-by-side comparison of the most commonly used independent (i.e. unrelated to a financial institution) third-party online bill management sites, including the costs to the consumer and which merchants accept payments from each programme.
• An interpretation of the current status of mobile bill management, an analysis of the causes of its successes and failures, and a viability forecast of mobile’s future as a bill management platform.
• Conclusions on the causes of resistance to online bill pay and potential solutions that would help to ease such resistance.

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