Pay Bills With a Click? More Americans Are Doing It and Banks Love It

By BOB TEDESCHI The New York Times

FROM the annals of Online Economics 101 comes this shocker: free is good, especially when it comes to paying bills.

Big billers like Verizon Wireless and ConEd learned this bit of wisdom years ago, when they offered customers the ability to pay bills free online. But most banks have come to the same realization only in the last 18 months.

The result has been a boom in the number of bills viewed and paid online. According to a recent poll by Harris Interactive, a research firm, the gap between the number of bills paid by check and the number paid online has closed significantly in the past year. More than 37 percent of bills are paid by check; 35 percent are paid online. The remaining 28 percent are paid with cash, debit cards or other payment methods.

Given that trend, Web payments could surpass checks over the next year. (Last year, 46 percent of bills were paid by check, and 25 percent online.)

Banks are hoping to accelerate the move by marketing online services far more aggressively. Television campaigns, radio spots and, of course, online advertisements from the Bank of America and Wells Fargo, among others, now promote the benefits of such services, where in years past banks advertised other features like online statements and account balances.

The caveat with these numbers is that the Harris poll was commissioned by CheckFree, which helps banks and billers build online bill presentment and payment services. But analysts said the data mirrored other research showing the growing popularity of the service.

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