Convenience, Control and Security Draw Consumers to Financial Institution Websites for Bill Payment

A new Harris Interactive survey sponsored by MasterCard shows that U.S. consumers are embracing the idea of online bill payment at their financial institutions website. The studys findings offer evidence that an increasing number of consumers are paying their bills online through their bank or financial institutions website, not only for the convenience of paying all their bills in one place but also for the benefits of complete financial management, as well as piece of mind in dealing with an institution they have an established trusted relationship with. The study found that a majority (90 percent) of survey participants who routinely pay their bills online at their financial institutions website, noted convenience as their primary reason for preferring this method. Other factors that influence their choice include 24/7 access, saving money, saving time and security. Particularly noteworthy, more than two-fifths of adherents to this bill-paying method (44 percent) maintain they would change financial institutions if their current one stopped offering the service, taking their business instead to another financial institution that does offer online bill payment. MasterCard RPPS believes that the ability to pay bills at a financial institutions website is the optimal solution because it simplifies the lives of busy consumers, especially those with diverse banking needs including bill payment, money transfer, checking account balances and reviewing account transactions and fragmented bill payment methods. Merchants, service providers and banks also benefit from this bill payment model in terms of customer satisfaction and loyalty, lower paper volume and reduced payment processing. The Harris Interactive study was commissioned by MasterCard Remote Payment and Presentment Service (RPPS) as a part of an ongoing effort to better understand consumer attitudes and behaviors with regard to online bill payment, a financial trend that is seeing rapid growth. Additional findings of the latest Harris Interactive survey include: - The activities that consumers engage in most frequently at their financial institution’s website include paying bills, accessing bank statements and checking balances, and reviewing account transactions. - Credit card payments are the bills most frequently paid through a financial institution’s website, followed by bills for utilities, phone/cellular service, cable/ISP, insurance and mortgage. - Nearly two thirds of survey respondents were offered some sort of incentive to start paying their bills through their bank or financial institution’s website. Access to the service free of charge all the time was by far the most prevalent offering among these respondents (87 percent). - Convenience and 24/7 access to the account are the most popular reasons respondents choose to pay bills online through their bank/financial institutions website.