Aug 19

Zap Those Bills Online
Sun Review August 19, 2000

In just a few short years, the Internet has changed the way many businesses view billing.

Electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) has sparked the interest of billers, who could save more than $29 billion per year if all recurring bills and payments were converted to electronic format. Internet-based electronic bill presentment and payment is the process that enables bills to be created, delivered, and paid over the Internet.

Albert Pang, research manager for IDC's eCommerce Software, a leading information technology research firm, states that "Buying products over the Internet with a credit card has become a common occurrence, but viewing the credit card bill itself and submitting a payment to settle it electronically is still considered a novelty." However, this will change as electronic bill presentment and payment products become more sophisticated, with the inclusion of features such as secure e-mail delivery and as the technology becomes increasingly implemented in business-to-business e-commerce.

The savings from suppressing a single call center inquiry can equal the cost of an entire year’s worth of electronic bill presentment and payment. According to industry analysts, within 3—5 years the majority of bills will be presented and paid electronically. Delivering additional customer services with these electronically delivered bills can result in a staggering $50+ billion per year in savings.

Up-front savings are only half the story. Online billing is fundamentally changing the way billers interact with customers, transforming the bill from a simple payment vehicle into a power platform for customer care. Once a biller establishes an online relationship with a customer, the monthly bill can serve as a gateway to a variety of other services including targeted marketing, customer inquiry and bill dispute resolution.

The real winners will be companies that capitalize on the lifetime value of customers and that recognize that the electronic bill is the key to attracting and retaining today’s high-value customers. The electronic bill may serve as a foundation for service companies' entire Internet strategy, allowing customers to self-manage their entire relationship with the service provider - from sales and marketing through billing and customer care - starting with the electronic bill.

In Canada, EBPP is still a big boys' game. A consortium of banks (Scotiabank, CIBC and Royal Bank) are developing their own proprietary electronic bill payment system, leaving smaller financial institutions and businesses anxiously awaiting the results.

EPOST™, a Canada Post initiative, (www.epost.ca) is the first in Canada to offer a single access point for EBPP with any Canadian financial institution. EPOST is free to the consumer, but companies pay to send bills, correspondence, forms and advertising, including embedded links to the company's online catalogue. The savings to business can range from a minimum of 68 cents to more than $2 for each transaction handled electronically rather than by paper.

The City of Toronto, EPOST and Internet billing specialist Optus Corporation (www.optuscorp.com) have teamed up for an on-line water bills project that makes the City of Toronto the first Canadian municipality to offer a web-based bill for on-line customer review and payment.

And in our own province, BC Hydro's (www.bchydro.com) Account Online lets you view your bill online and sends you an e-mail reminder when the bill is due. You can view up to 24 months of your consumption, billing and payment history.