Today, PaymentsSource reported that online bill payment continues to grow faster than all other consumer payment methods. Visa has recognized this trend for many years and has actively worked with billers across many industries, including utilities, to expand and facilitate card acceptance to benefit utilities and cardholders alike.
Our work is paying off, as thousands of utilities around the U.S. currently accept Visa for bill payment, and Chartwell reported that card acceptance by utilities increased significantly during the past decade (Chartwell report).
Just recently, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) renewed its acceptance agreement with Visa, allowing their customers to continue paying bills using a Visa card. Another example is DTE Energy, a Detroit-based utility company that says it has reduced costs and strengthened customer relationships through card acceptance (see a DTE Energy bill payment case study here).
These successes are partly the result of a targeted campaign by Visa to expand card acceptance at utility companies. Among the steps we’ve taken include: establishing a custom incentive fee structure for utility payments; addressing consumer convenience fee barriers; demonstrating how utility operation expenses can be curbed through acceptance; and providing specialized support services to participating utilities.
We’ve also conducted extensive research to understand consumers bill payment preferences. According to a Visa survey, 75 percent of respondents said they opt for Visa bill payments due to convenience, followed by speed, security and expense management (Visa Bill Payment Survey, June 2009). Not to mention the desire to save paper and protect the environment.
Posted by: Ted Carr, Visa Corporate Relations on July 13, 2010 at 6:22 pm
