Whether it’s Gen Zers with their emojis or Boomers with their full sentences and punctuation, texting is a way of life for pretty much everyone. The usefulness of this communication channel cannot be understated, and new data from Datos Insights shows that billers would be wise to adopt texting capabilities to enhance the bill pay experience.
Today’s Bill Pay Challenges
One of the most important takeaways from the recent Datos Insights report is that 60% of all paid bills (approximately 10 billion bills) were made in 2023 as one-time payments. In other words, more than half of all bills are at the mercy of the customer’s memory.
It should come as no surprise that 40% of consumers report having made a late payment during the last 12 months. Given the financial constraints facing many consumers, along with the sheer number of bills they must pay each month, it’s easy to see how even the best customer may slip from time to time. Ultimately, this is the biller’s challenge to solve, but it is solvable.
Text Drives On-Time Bill Payments
There are many benefits to deploying a Pay-by-Text option, which are proven out by several key metrics. The first benefit revolves around payment reminders. As the payment due date approaches, a text reminder with a link to your organization’s payment portal puts your message front and center with the customer. And it works:
of consumers receiving a payment reminder text clicked through to pay their bill.
of consumers receiving payment reminder links say it’s the fastest, easiest way to make a bill payment.
Even better, offering customers the ability to pay their bill directly within the text is an extremely popular option that many customers have expressed interest. 66% of all consumers say they are somewhat likely to pay by text, with that number rising to 88% for Gen Zers and Millennials.
Utility of Texts Beyond Bill Pay
While payment reminders and in-text bill payment capabilities are the two most impactful features offered by texting, there are extended benefits. Beyond simply reminding customers that a payment is due, organizations can alert customers to the many different ways they can pay their bill. For instance, if a customer’s due date falls on a weekend, Paymentus clients deploying Walmart Bill Pay or Scan-to-Pay can alert the customer to the many retail options at their disposal.
Texting is also a great way to promote capabilities such as AutoPay. While many consumers may find texts useful, others can find them necessary yet intrusive. For these customers, promoting automated payments eliminates the need for reminder texts and can help your organization ensure more on-time payments.
Texting Is One Piece of a Holistic Puzzle
Of course, the optimal billing and payment solution is one that offers multiple payment methods and channels to meet any consumer preference. Text is a fantastic innovation that fits seamlessly within the day-to-day life of most consumers – but there are many who still prefer receiving paper bills, visiting offices or sticking to a monthly bill pay routine without receiving reminders and notifications.
Your organization may have a strategy to achieve the ideal payment mix, but it is your customers who will ultimately decide how and when their bills are paid. By deploying a multi-dimensional billing and payment solution, you can ensure more on-time payments while reducing your costs by taking full advantage of more cost-effective digital capabilities. You may even receive a few smiling emojis from your happy customers.
Want to see how your organization can quickly and easily deploy text payment options as part of your holistic billing and payment solution? Let’s talk! Contact us today for a Pay-by-Text demo.
*All statistics courtesy of Datos Insights, The State of Bill Pay: Digital Payment Trends and Growing Demand for Text Messaging, May 2024
