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In the U.S., the bill pay market is $3.9 trillion and growing slowly. But digital bill pay, which makes up half of all bills, is growing rapidly according to a recent Business Insider Intelligence report. That share is expected to expand to over 75 percent by 2022. Although many American consumers currently find it easiest to pay their bills directly to the company they owe, there is a lot to be said for consolidating bills – including housing costs, utilities, taxes, insurance, loans and more – into one digital, instant-pay app.

Bill pay today is far from a smooth process, and the healthcare, college tuition and loan servicing industries illustrate this:

When consumers pay their bills through third-party digital bill pay applications, businesses lose their influence over the cost of payment and consumer experience. However, by offering better, instant and digital bill payment experiences for their consumers, companies can take control of that consumer touch point before it’s too late — before attrition.

 

The switch to real-time is a matter of when… not if

With real-time payments, money is instantly taken out of one bank account and deposited into another bank account, 24x7x365. This same transaction carries the payment and remittance data. These payments run on new rails and move money faster than same-day ACH and debit cards, and prevent ACH returns because they’re irrevocable – with guaranteed funds. When a consumer submits a payment, they’ll see it immediately taken from their account, preventing overdrafts. For businesses, this means improved collections, a reduction in operational costs associated with collecting and reconciling payments, and greater satisfaction from customers.

The switch to real-time payments is now a matter of when, not if, thus making it imperative that companies select partners that can support such payments now and in the future. To defend costs and consumer relationships, organizations must offer a better digital and instant bill pay experience now… or face increased competitive pressures from a growing list of entrants.

 

Ready to make the switch to real-time? Stay at the forefront of new bill payment options with ACI’s Real-Time Payments Resource Center

Director - Product Management

Geoff is a product management leader for ACI’s Biller platform, with nearly 20 years’ experience in payments across banking, merchant and biller verticals. He’s on a mission to make it easier to pay bills, if only for himself.