The global health crisis pushed businesses and consumers to turn online when making many routine transactions, including bill payments. However, his shift led both to expect more from their banks or billers when making these payments.
Customers are now asking for more transparency in their bill pay process. One recent study found that 70% of consumers agreed that reoccurring payment tools made it easier to keep track of their finances. 
Another 55% did not know how much money was taken out of their accounts monthly, indicating the process remains murky for many bill payers. Figuring out how to smooth out such frictions and enable smooth and instant payments is therefore essential for today’s banks and billers to keep customers engaged and satisfied.
In the latest Real-Time Payments Tracker®, PYMNTS analyzes how incorporating seamless bill payment solutions can enable billers and financial institutions (FIs) to provide swifter settlements and meet these changing needs.
Around the Real-Time Payments Space
Overly complex bill payment processes can lead to adverse financial effects for payers. One recent study found that 19% of United States adults cited complicated virtual bill payment processes as the reason behind their late or delayed payments, for example. Paying bills late can adversely impact consumers’ finances, causing further interest to accrue on loans or impacting their credit. Finding ways to offer consumers frictionless, real-time bill pay experiences can therefore directly affect their financial health — which could, in turn, boost customers’ loyalty to their FIs or other billers. 
As a higher number of both consumers and businesses begin to conduct more of their banking and payment activities online, billers must improve the payment experience with frictionless, real-time payment options.
Many companies and consumers are leaving paper checks and other manual payment methods behind when making routine transactions. Another recent report found that the number of automated clearing house (ACH) transactions conducted on The Clearing House’s electronic payments network increased nearly 10% year over year, for example. This growth occurred from business and consumer transactions, both of which are now making more payments electronically, Jason Carone, senior vice president for TCH, explained in a recent PYMNTS interview. Being able to support such payment options should therefore be a top goal for FIs and businesses as digital transactions become the norm.
For more on these and other stories, visit the Tracker’s News and Trends.
Mountain America Credit Union on How Swift Bill Pay Can Help FIs Increase Customer Engagement
Bill payment is a routine transaction for both individuals and businesses alike, many of which are now turning to online channels first and foremost to make and receive such payments. This slow shift to digital also means bill payers and payees’ expectations for their bill payment experiences are also changing, said Kelly Albiston, senior vice president and chief technology officer for Mountain America Credit Union (MACU), in a recent PYMNTS interview. Keeping pace with customers’ changing bill pay needs and offering them the swift bill pay experiences they are now expecting is critical for today’s FIs as they seek to keep their customers engaged and satisfied.
To learn more about how swift bill pay can lead to greater customer engagement, visit the Tracker’s Feature Story.
How Automated Bill Pay Can Help FIs, Billers Foster Customer Growth
Both businesses and consumers moved to reconsider how they made routine transactions following the effects of the global health crisis, including how they paid their bills. This was especially pressing for businesses as they scrambled to keep operations moving during the pandemic. One recent survey found that 49% of U.S. financial leaders were either “concerned” or “extremely concerned” about their organizations’ cash flow throughout the crisis. Many consumers also reported frictions in their typical bill payment processes during the pandemic, making seamless, streamlined bill payment solutions a high priority for firms in various industries.
To learn more about how automated bill pay solutions can help both businesses and their financial partners meet their shifting needs and boost customer engagement, visit the Tracker’s PYMNTS Intelligence.
About the Tracker
The Real-Time Payments Tracker®, a PYMNTS collaboration with The Clearing House, examines open banking’s recent growth and how ACH has become the go-to payment processor for its speed, lower costs and ability to improve cash flow and accuracy.