| By Jim Bruene on January 3, 1999 11:00 AM | Comments (0) |
For years we’ve urged a cautious approach in bill payment. Having run a bill pay program in 1993 and 1994, we knew firsthand the customer service issues inherent in the cobbled together systems of that day. Times are a-changing and 1999 is the time to move aggressively forward.
Why is the time finally right to make a serious move into bill payment? Four
things have occurred that will make this long awaited service a reality in
1999-2000.
1. BIG, HUGE MONEY has arrived. You have to look no further than Transpoint, an e-billing joint venture of three of the most powerful companies in the world: Microsoft, First Data, and Citibank. And with the current economics of Web companies (traffic = market value), companies have a real financial incentive to make e-billing work sooner rather than later.
2. Competition is accelerating investment and innovation. As we said when
Microsoft/First Data entered this business through what was then called MSFDC in
mid-‘97, competition will be good for the industry. The main competitor then as
now is Checkfree, which has since boosted its stature with strategic
alignments with the Integrion/IBM/VISA and Intuit camps. In
addition, at least a half dozen major banks including First Union and
Bank of America are mounting efforts to become full service
e-billing players themselves.
3. Web portals are angling to become major
e-billing hosts to boost traffic and serve this potentially lucrative ecommerce
need.
4. In the last 12 months consumers have gone from wary to enthusiastic in their use of ecommerce. Look at some of the leading indicators:
- 10+ million online credit card applicants
(OBR 11/98) - 10+ million online buyers during the holidays
- 6+ million Amazon.com buyers
- 5+ million active online traders
- 1+ million active online auction buyers
Due to the convergence of these market factors, we think bill presentment could become a highly hyped Internet service in 1999 or 2000. The resultant buzz could increase usage significantly beyond the 18 million online bill payment households we forecast for year-end 2001 (OBR 12/98).
E-Billing User Needs Matrix:
|
User Needs/Concerns |
Solution |
| Make sure the bill is correct (from biller). |
|
| Let me pay my bills at the last possible moment. |
|
| Process my payments flawlessly (but keep me informed, I don’t completely trust your system). |
|
| Make sure there are enough funds in my account to cover the payment. |
|
| Give me absolute control over the timing and amount of each payment. |
|
| Provide ironclad security. |
|
| Protect my privacy and payment records. |
|
| Save me money (less than the cost of a stamp). |
viable pricing options:
|
| Save me time. |
|
| Help me understand my financial situation, make better budgets, etc. |
|
| Reduce the anxiety surrounding bill payment (Did I pay it? Where is that bill anyway?) |
|
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