1. Print and mail (paper-based)
2. Fax
3. Email with embedded data
4. Data interchange (system-to-system)
5. Email with PDF and/or link to on-line
6. Online (customer portal)
7.
8.
9. Mobile Tablet
10. Emergent technology (via cable TV etc.)
Only print and mail on the above list existed as an option
until around 30 years ago when fax arrived and 25 years ago when email came
along (both of which still have quite a strong following today). Data
interchange options were mainly evolved and used in the B2B rather than direct Business
to customer or B2C space but again are still around today as a strong channel,
supported in the main by large international software companies, who have sufficiently
large installed volumes to want to protect their position in the billing
market.
Web based technology has driven the greatest change in the
billing space in the last 10 years or so and seen the emergence of both
consumer and merchant portals (for presentment and payment) and the use of
mobile technology as 3G and 4G have made the internet available to mobile
phones.
Even though each of these channels presents a new and
perhaps better and more convenient choice to a given customer (and are often
presented as the channel to replace earlier channel choices) in reality, they
are often just additional options. In other words, consumers have shown time
and time again that they like the extra choice but do not necessarily want to
be driven too quickly to only one channel (however “efficient and effective” it
is presented to be).
The implication of customers wanting lots of channel choice
to both view and pay their bills is that the same bill may need to be presented
and rendered possible to pay in several channels, at least for now.
However, perhaps all of this is a false dilemma. In the
final analysis, customers do not care if a bill is delivered to their computer,
their tablet or their mobile (or even all three). In fact, many want to see it
delivered in as many ways as possible to allow maximum flexibility, including
by email or by PDF attachment and even in the physical mail or fax on some
occasions. This multi-channel approach is therefore a customer centric approach.
The challenge for billers then is how to provide as many of these channels as
possible at the lowest coat possible. In the end there is only one solution to
this –use a full digital bill presentment and payment portal such as PaySwyft
for example. This not only means that a bill can be sent in all nine of the
current channels above but means that a biller would be well-placed to take
advantage of the new emergent technologies that will come along as in the near
future.