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Online Bill Pay Growing More Popular, And Safer
Doug Caverly
Staff Writer
2006-05-26
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
According to recent surveys, more people than ever before are paying their bills online. This practice may be safer than it was in the past, as well-data also indicated that individuals who pay their bills online have a lower chance of having their identities stolen.
Harris Interactive claims that 69 percent of household with Internet access pay at least one bill online, a figure that would represent a steady increase from past research. The firm pegged the number at 56 percent in March 2005, and 52 percent in June 2004.
Lower costs of online bill pay may be one reason for the rising numbers: 91 percent of users who pay their bills from a single consolidated website say they receive the service for free. And the safety of those sites may be another motivating factor. Generally offered by banks, brokerages, and credit unions, 87 percent of users who pay their bills online at all go through these portals, which tend to drastically decrease the risk of having information stolen.
"Paying bills online is in the mainstream, and for the first time online banking and bill pay has moved into the top three factors considered by consumers when choosing a bank," said Matt Lewis, executive vice president and general manager of CheckFree's electronic commerce division. CheckFree sponsored the Harris study, which queried 2,083 Internet users.
Concerns over identify theft and security seem to be the biggest barriers to taking advantage of online bill payment services. Motivating factors to make the switch include convenience (with 44 percent of the study participants choosing ease-of-use-related factors as the most important benefit), speed (13 percent), and control (9 percent).
The shift to online bill pay is gathering momentum, and it looks like it's a safe switch to make.
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About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for SecurityProNews, InternetFinancialNews, SearchNewz, and WebProNews.
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