NACHA: Direct Payment via ACH is the top consumer bill payment method

According to a study released by NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association, billers prefer receiving ACH payments over cards 48 percent to 21 percent. Specifically, billers prefer recurring ACH payments, citing this option as the most favorable payment method. Consumers, on the other hand, prefer one-time ACH payments for bill pay. Of the 47 percent of consumer bills paid via Direct Payment, 25 percent are one-time ACH payments, 11 percent are recurring ACH payments, and another 11 percent are ACH payments originated by biller service providers.

The study has also found that the most successful billers with highest rates of Direct Payment adoption have a defined budget for promoting ACH, and have had success in increasing Direct Payment coupled with paper statement suppression campaigns. These billers also actively communicate with customers about Direct Payment options during service onboarding. The billers report that faster, easier and convenience related messages for Direct Payment work well, and that green messaging continues to have positive results.

Finally, the study has revealed that financial institutions have an important role as well for expanding Direct Payment. Billers in the study report positive results from cross pollination efforts, where billers and banks combine marketing efforts. Furthermore, the majority of billers (62 percent) get information about Direct Payment from their financial institutions, indicating that financial institutions are a vital biller partner in this endeavor.