In the next 10 years, a considerable number of consumers and businesses will be paying and collecting most of their bills through electronic bill channels, according to a recent report by TowerGroup, a research firm based in Needham, Mass.
Elizabeth Robertson, an analyst with TowerGroup who wrote the report, said the volume of electronically billed and paid items will climb 29 percent by 2010, compared with less than 1 percent now.
Consumers for the most part continue to have concerns about Internet privacy and security, Robertson said. And paying bills "electronically is not widely available to them, because the bulk of billers are not doing it yet," she said.
Consumers are projected to save $4.4 billion a year, while businesses are projected to save $5.55 billion, as electronic payments become the main channel in which bills are paid, the survey says. Those are considerable savings considering that onsumers spend nearly $5 billion annually in associated costs for postage.
* Excerpts taken from full Newsday article, which ran on November 16, 2000
About TowerGroup: TowerGroup is the leading provider of information technology research, advisory and consulting services specializing in topics critical to the global financial services industry. TowerGroup conducts research addressing banking, securities, investments, and insurance information technology, products, vendors, markets, investment trends and issues. Headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts, and with offices serving Europe and Latin America, TowerGroup serves a global client base which includes some of the world’s largest financial services, technology and consulting firms. For additional information, visit TowerGroup online at www.towergroup.com.
