Customer communication platform Weave has added online bill pay to its product suite.
The feature lets small businesses create, send and embed a link for customers to pay their bills online at their convenience, Weave said in a Wednesday (May 17) news release, singling out healthcare providers.
“As digital experiences come to the forefront across industries, customers now expect businesses to have flexible online tools and access to these solutions influence where they take their business,” the release said. “Without this, small- to medium-sized businesses risk losing business to competitors who offer flexible online payment solutions.”
Weave said in the release its tool lets businesses collect payments online anytime, anywhere with a payment page unique to their company, improving customer experience and boosting profitability, as fewer payments are processed by office staff.
“Online Bill Pay will not only streamline administrative tasks but will be a revenue driver and open new opportunities for small businesses to connect with more potential customers,” said Weave CEO Brett White in the release. “Paying for services online has become an expectation among customers and only continues to grow in popularity. This new tool will offer conveniences for providers and patients alike and allow businesses to better compete with digitally-advanced peers.”
Meanwhile, PYMNTS research found consumers are embracing the chance to pay for healthcare online, especially older Americans.
A study by PYMNTS and Lynx found that 64% of baby boomers and seniors have adopted digital channels for some healthcare activities and were highly satisfied with the experience.
But this desire for simplified bill payment isn’t just confined to healthcare. Additional PYMNTS research showed consumers and billers demand a less fragmented payment experience.
As shown in “Why Holistic Payment Experiences Will Win the Payment Platform War,” a PYMNTS and Paymentus collaboration, two-thirds of billers offer website payments, but just 40% let customers use their banks’ systems.
The more issues consumers run into when paying bills, the more interested they are in a solution to solve frictions. PYMNTS’ data showed that 62% of consumers who experienced multiple pain points when settling bills over the previous three months said they would want to access a holistic platform for paying bills.