Fiserv Survey: More Consumers Use Mobile Devices to Pay Bills (Jan. 24, 2013)
Jan. 24, 2013
The number of consumers using mobile devices to pay bills is slowly gaining momentum, according to Fiserv Inc., a Brookfield, Wis.-based provider of financial services technology, in its fifth annual Billing Household Survey, which assesses bill payment habits of active online households and infrequent or non-Internet users.
Though the percentage of households paying bills with their mobile phones is relatively small, 8 percent of online households, or 8 million total households, paid at least one monthly bill using this method, up from 6 percent in 2011, the survey indicates. What’s more, mobile bill payment has grown more than 40 percent since 2011 among smartphone owners. Consumers who paid bills using their mobile devices reported that mobile as a payment option saves time (50 percent), offers anytime-access (44 percent) and is most convenient when on the go (43 percent).
Not all consumers use one method to pay bills or always use the same methods, according to the survey. Among the payment channels—online at bank and company (biller) sites, checks sent via mail, walk-in, over the phone and with mobile devices—three out of four consumers use at least two bill payment methods each month, and more than 20 percent of consumers change how they pay their bills from month to month.
“Consumers expect and value different billing and payment offerings from their service providers,” said Jardon Bouska, division president, biller solutions, Fiserv. “By understanding these preferences, billers, service providers and financial institutions can offer a billing and payment experience that meets a wide range of consumers’ needs and demands, from traditional methods to new and growing areas, such as mobile payments.”
