Recent research by Jupiter Communications shows that while consumers feel bank Web sites are well positioned for the task of on-line bill presentment, the banks will need to pursue it aggressively or risk losing the opportunity to others who already consolidate utility functions for on-line users.
Jupiter expects that by the end of the year, the average U.S. on-line household will be able to receive three to four monthly bills (29 percent) through on-line bill presentment. This number will grow to approximately eight monthly bills (65 percent) in 2002. However, the war over which Web sites will aggregate and present these bills to consumers has yet to be won.
The Jupiter/NFO consumer survey shows that 42 percent of on-line consumers would like to receive bills from their bankís Web site over other market players, such as personal financial management software providers (37 percent), America On-line (13 percent), portals (seven percent), and brokers (one percent). But, if banks are not up to the task, they will lose out. Marc Johnson, director of Digital Commerce Strategies for Jupiter Communications, said, "For banks, on-line bill presentment offers the last chance to drive recurring contact with customers. This is critical for both customer retention and cross-promotion of other bank products and services."
