Making the bill interactive is a way to reach out to customers, as well as target market products to them. Beta testers see promise in Netscape's bill-paying venture. Online billing is a useful way to reach customers in a vast rural area like Saskatchewan, says Smith. An added benefit of bill presentment is that it encourages electronic payments, rather than paper checks. When customers view bills online, they're more inclined to pay them electronically, which can be done quickly with the click of a mouse.
Electronic payment offers both cost savings and faster collection.
It typically takes about four days for a biller to receive a paper payment. Va. Electronic bill payment and presentment can cut that time in half. The biller can also gain new advertising revenue streams. Not only is there no limit to the number of virtual advertisements that can be included with the bill, but ads can be more dynamic and better targeted. For one thing, electronic bills can be far more easily customized.