Jupiter Media – 44% Of US HH Will View Bills Online.

Jupiter Research reported that online bill viewing and payment will be among the fastest growing consumer applications over the next three years. By 2006, more than 50 million households will view bills online and 52 million households will pay at least one bill online. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23% over 2001’s figure of 18 million U.S. households who viewed at least one bill online.

The Jupiter Research report titled, “Payments & Transactions: Online Bill Viewing & Payment Forecast, 2001 – 2006,” finds that in 2001, consumers viewed 643 million bills online, representing 6% of total U.S. consumer bills. This figure will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41% to 3.5 billion bills in 2006, accounting for 32% of all U.S. consumer bills.

“Firms that issue simple bills should discard the notion of attracting consumers to their Web sites for marketing opportunities; instead, they should invest based on the cost savings they will derive from working with bill aggregators and, over time, eliminating paper statements,” said Rob Leathern, Jupiter Research Senior Analyst. “As banks become the natural hubs for consumers’ future aggregated bill viewing, they must build out their online servicing capabilities and create value-added applications to cement customer loyalty.”

Existing Financial Relationships Lead to Aggregated Bill Viewing

Jupiter Research reports that while direct biller sites today account for 83% of bills viewed online, this will fall to 60% by 2006, with 40% of bills viewed at consolidators’ sites in 2006. Consumers who are interested in viewing and paying their bills in a single venue say they would prefer to do so at their primary banking provider’s site. This tendency increases among more experienced online users: 32% of users who have five or more years of online experience prefer a bank site compared with 23% of users who have been online for a year or less. As consumers spend more time online, they tend to replicate many of their offline relationships, and they often use the online offerings of their existing banks and brokerage houses.

Online Bill Viewing will Reach 44% of U.S. Households by 2006

Billers interviewed by Jupiter Research found that customers who utilize online billing are more satisfied and have a greater affinity for the company’s brand. The report also found that online billing customers are more profitable and loyal than traditional consumers.

“Early consumer adopters of online billing are likely already a company’s best customers,” says Leathern. “As more customers become experienced using the Internet, the increased demand for the convenience of online billing will make a robust online billing offering a cost of doing business.”