Don't wait any longer to plug in to the powerful advantages of online bill payment via a single-connection network model that delivers access to virtually every online bill-payment originator— link to the MasterCard RPPS network, a leader in the online bill-payments industry for more than 20 years—has helped companies transform their resource-draining, paper-based payments operations into models of efficiency.

Over the last five years, a radical transformation in consumer behavior has dramatically reshaped the payments landscape. Companies willing to address the changing terrain can reap huge advantages, while those that resist may lose ground to their competitors.

Going Electronic

According to a 2006 study of consumer payment preferences by Dove Consulting, consumers have demonstrated a clear and growing preference for electronic forms of payment across all payment venues—in stores, for Internet purchases, and for recurring payments. In fact, between 2001 and 2005, electronic payments' share of total payments jumped from 43% to 55%.

Checks' percentage of total recurring payments dropped precipitously over the same period. Today, checks account for just 49% of consumers' monthly bill payments, down from 72% in 2001.

Online bill payment is growing at a particularly rapid pace. In 2001, 12 million U.S. households paid bills online. By 2004, that number jumped to an estimated 34 million households, and it is predicted to increase to 50 million by 2008¹.

The Opportunity

While consumers are moving irresistibly to electronic forms of payment, different methods—such as online bill payment, credit and debit cards, and automatic recurring payments—will appeal to different consumers, depending on demographics. What's more, consumers want a choice of payment options so that they may select the method that's most convenient for their immediate needs. It's up to companies to provide that choice. The accelerating growth of online bill payment—in particular, a consumer-anticipated shift toward the use of online banking Web sites (for example, financial institutions' sites)—presents a particularly important opportunity that companies should not overlook. The Dove study indicates that for monthly bills, 24% of consumers currently choose to pay online via either an online banking Web site or at the biller's site. Consumers, however, expect that in the future, their use of online banking sites will increase faster than that of any other payment option. In fact, by 2008, the number of consumer bills that will be paid online through a bank will more than double, according to the research firm Aite Group.

Companies' expansion of their electronic bill-payment services to address consumers' fast-growing preference for online banking sites can deliver both significant savings and enhanced efficiencies. In the climate of industry deregulation, it can also provide a valuable tool for strengthening customer relationships.

One of the nation's largest energy suppliers found itself flooded with check-and-lists from more than 2,100 financial institutions every month. The time-consuming and labor-intensive ritual of manually entering those payments into its system—a tedious and error-prone process—dramatically slowed payment posting while elevating costs and customer inquiries. A link to the MasterCard RPPS network, a leader in the online bill-payments industry for more than 20 years, helped this company transform its resource-draining, paper-based payments operation into a model of efficiency.

Now, the company receives hundreds of thousands of payments totaling tens of millions of dollars via the network every month. The check-and-lists, transformed into electronic payments, have been all but eliminated. Today, the network connection enables the company to process twice the volume of payments it did just six years ago with half the number of employees. Moreover, the payments that used to take 7 to 15 days to post as check-and-list items are now processed automatically in just hours.

With the support of the network connection, this supplier has earned distinction as one of the industry's most productive and cost-effective companies. While its operating and maintenance expenses measure just 53% of the industry average per customer, it serves 43% more customers per employee than its industry peers.

One Connection, Multiple Benefits

What drives the impressive turnaround illustrated by this case study is the network, which functions as a central hub that collects payments from multiple sources and routes them to connected billers. With its single connection, the network offers billers and lockbox providers access to virtually every consumer who pays bills via an online banking site. Moreover, consumer bill-pay service providers and walk-in payment companies also connect with the network, allowing billers to electronically receive payments from these sources, as well.

Accepting electronic bill payments via a reliable network provider offers dramatic benefits for a utility's payment-processing operation:

MasterCard RPPS adds value across the entire electronic payments landscape. Learn more today!

MasterCard RPPS delivers the most advanced electronic payment services available, setting the standard for the industry. We understand and fully support your needs—and we’re ready to manage your online bill payment tasks so you can concentrate on building your business in this expanding environment.

To learn more about all of our payment services, please contact MasterCard RPPS Sales and New Business Development at 1-800-535-2130.