Smartphone and tablet ownership are changing consumers’ bill payment behaviors, with more planning to use the devices to facilitate the payments, new survey data show. The Western Union Bill Payment s Money Mindset Index found that 15 percent of the 3,087 consumer surveyed said they plan to pay more bills via a mobile device, and 13 percent said they would do so through a mobile app or text message over the next six months.
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But U.S. consumers aren’t just using online and mobile options to pay bills. The survey underscores why choice and convenience are critical to meeting consumer needs:
- 36 percent of consumers use three or more channels, such as online, in-person, and others, to pay their monthly bills
- 38 percent use three or more payment methods, such as credit card, debit card, ACH, or cash, to pay their monthly bills
- 18 percent of multi-method bill payers and 27 percent of multi-channel bill payers used a mobile phone to pay at least one bill per month
“The Western Union Bill Payments Money Mindset Index points to increasingly tech-savvy consumers choosing to add mobile options to their bill payment tool kit,” said David Shapiro, senior vice president, Payments, Western Union. “Another key take-away for the business community is the importance of meeting consumer demand for convenience, flexibility, and choice; our customizable bill payment solutions can help companies deliver on these needs.”
As more consumers begin to use mobile and online banking initiatives, they are seeing the benefits of using the service to pay their bills electronically. And as they begin paying their bills via mobile devices, they start to do so with greater regularity and with more billers over time. But the trend has taken years to develop and only now is gaining strong momentum.
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