-- Online Banking and Bill Payment Features Surpass Proximity of Bank Branches
to Home as Factor in Selecting a Bank for Personal Accounts --
ATLANTA, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CheckFree Corporation
(Nasdaq: CKFR) today announced the most recent results of a survey conducted
twice annually by CheckFree Analytic Research Services with The Marketing
Workshop, Inc. and Harris Interactive, revealing that 56 percent of U.S.
online households are paying at least one bill online, up from 52 percent in
June 2004. Currently, 87 percent of users who pay their bills from a single
"consolidated" website, such as a bank, brokerage, credit union or Internet
portal, say they receive the service for free.
For the first time, online banking and bill pay features surpassed the
more traditional bank selection criteria of bank branch and ATM proximity to
home. The availability of online banking and bill pay features ranked third
among the top three factors in selecting a bank for personal accounts,
following "availability of free checking" and "reasonable fees and service
charges."
The CheckFree-sponsored study was conducted by The Marketing Workshop and
Harris Interactive via an Internet survey of 2,083 consumers 18 years of age
and older. The survey is representative of the online population of
approximately 72 million consumer households in the United States. CheckFree
has conducted the Consumer Billing and Payment Trends study with similar
survey items at six regular intervals since 2001.
"Today's Internet user has several options when choosing to pay bills
online. Consumers can pay individual bills at a 'biller direct' website, such
as a utility, telecommunications or credit card company, or pay any bill from
a single 'consolidated' website like their bank," says Matt Lewis, executive
vice president and general manager of CheckFree's Electronic Commerce
Division. "Paying bills online is in the mainstream, and for the first time
online banking and bill pay has moved into the top three factors considered by
consumers when choosing a bank."
The study revealed that of the next group of potential subscribers, 18
percent indicated that concern about the security of their personal
information is the most significant barrier to using an electronic billing and
payment service, and 21 percent of potential subscribers indicated that
protection against fraud and late fees would be an attractive incentive in
encouraging them to adopt the service.
Although they voice concerns about fraud, online consumers said they have
continued to pay their bills electronically. According to the survey, the
volume of bill payments made at consolidated sites, primarily banks, increased
24 percent from June 2004 to March 2005.
The bank branch was cited as an important initial source of information
among consumers who are already paying their bills at a consolidated service,
with 25 percent naming the branch as the most influential source of
information when they decided to enroll.
Why do consumers choose an electronic billing and payment service?
The CheckFree survey examined the reasons people choose to pay bills at a
consolidated site and determined that the leading benefits are:
- Convenience -- 27 percent of consumers stated the most important
benefit was saving the paper, stamps and hassle of paying bills by
check, while 17 percent stated that paying online was the easiest way
to pay bills.
- Speed -- 13 percent of consumers stated the most important benefit was
that it is faster than paying by check.
- Control -- 9 percent of consumers stated the most important benefit was
the ability to ensure bills are paid on time as specified by the
consumer.
The Value of Electronic Bills
Electronic bills (e-bills) contain the same information as a typical paper
bill and are delivered directly to a consumer's consolidated bill pay account
or a biller direct website. Of all online consumers in the study, consolidated
users who receive e-bills at the same site where they pay multiple bills are
the most satisfied customers:
- 60 percent of consolidated users with e-bill rate themselves as very
satisfied with online banking, versus 55 percent of consolidated users
without e-bill and 52 percent of consumers who use online banking but
do not pay bills online.
- E-bill users are much more likely to recommend their consolidated
service to their friends and family than consolidated users not taking
advantage of e-bills. Consolidated users with e-bill made almost 80
percent more recommendations in the three months prior to the survey
than consolidated users without e-bill (2.5 recommendations vs. 1.4
recommendations).
E-bill users also ranked the reasons they like both receiving and paying
bills online via e-bill as:
- E-bill makes sure the bill is paid on time (28 percent)
- Convenience, just click and pay (24 percent)
- Email reminders are available (18 percent)
- Ensures I never misplace a bill (6 percent)
- Makes budgeting easier (6 percent)
- Helps the environment by minimizing paper (6 percent)
Heavy Users of Online Financial Services
According to the CheckFree survey, users of a consolidated bill payment
service are more likely to use multiple banking services at financial
institutions than non-users. A higher percentage of consolidated users have
checking, savings and money market accounts, and car, personal/student and
home equity loans with these institutions. Sixty-two percent of consolidated
users indicated they are less likely to switch banks due to their experience
with the service.
Consolidated users also tend to use other cost-effective online banking
channels:
- 58 percent of consolidated users also receive monthly electronic
statements, versus 46 percent of customers who do not use consolidated.
- 58 percent of consolidated users also use online customer service,
versus 47 percent of customers who do not use consolidated.
- 36 percent of consolidated users have signed up for email alerts,
versus 17 percent of customers who do not use consolidated.
Matt Lewis will highlight the use of consumer research, including
CheckFree's Consumer Billing and Payment Trends study, during a joint
presentation with Lawrence Baxter, Chief e-Commerce Officer, Wachovia Bank, at
the BAI Retail Delivery Conference on November 17. The topic of the
presentation is "Responding to the Voice of the Customer."
About CheckFree (http://www.checkfreecorp.com)
Founded in 1981, CheckFree Corporation (Nasdaq: CKFR) provides financial
electronic commerce services and products to organizations around the world.
CheckFree Electronic Commerce solutions enable thousands of financial services
providers and billers to offer their customers the convenience of receiving
and paying their household bills online or in person through retail outlets.
CheckFree Investment Services provides a broad range of investment management
solutions and outsourced services to thousands of financial services
organizations, which manage more than $1.2 trillion in assets. CheckFree
Software develops, markets and supports software applications that are used by
financial institutions to process more than two-thirds of the 12 billion
Automated Clearing House transactions in the United States. The division also
provides global trade processing, reconciliation, financial messaging,
compliance and electronic billing and statement software to hundreds of
organizations across the globe.
SOURCE CheckFree Corporation
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.checkfreecorp.com
CONTACT:
Media, Judy DeRango Wicks, +1-678-375-1595,
or jdwicks@checkfree.com, or Investors, Tina Moore,
+1-678-375-1278, or tmoore@checkfree.com, both of CheckFree
Corporation
|
