Untitled Document
Online Bill Payment
India's Internet population currently stands at 38.5 million and is set to grow to a 100 million by 2007-08
How soon will net-savvy Indians pay bills 'online' rather than 'in line'? Online bill payment is still in its infancy, but the potential is staggering. According to research by IAMAI, the number of Indians paying bills online is expected to increase from the current 0.3 million in 2005-06. to 1.8 million by 2007-2008.
Why online bill payment is an opportunity for both billers and consumers Currently, the average Indian household in the top 10 India cities pays 42 bills annually, most of it to finance, insurance, telecommunications and utilities companies.
Offline bill payment is a time-consuming process, and doing it online not only benefits billers but consumers as well. While billers see EBPP as a potential cost saver, it's a great revenue opportunity for banks and third-party service providers. Banks are in a good position to cash in because of their reputation as `trusted companies' and should recognise that their online customers are more profitable than their offline customers.
While automated bank debits for bill payment have been available to consumers for more than a decade, it's the benefit of self-service at any hour and increasing comfort with online financial transactions that are attracting netizens to Internet bill payment services in large numbers.
Netizens will increasingly adopt online bill payment for factors such as convenience, control, trust, privacy, and improved record-keeping; another plus factor is that they can depend on customer service for recourse. EBPP lets Netizens 1) Set payment amounts and schedule payment dates so they won't miss due dates and incur late fees; 2) View their payment history; 3) Arrange for recurring payments.
Cross Tab Marketing Services, a pioneer in the field of online research, conducted the study on behalf of IAMAI. It was undertaken to make actionable recommendations on how companies can fill the gaps and make full use of the unique elements of the online bill payment phenomenon to create a competitive advantage for themselves.