U.S. Online Bill Payments to Double by 2010
The percentage of U.S consumer bill payments that are made online at consolidator Websites will rise from 14 percent this year to 28 percent by 2010, says Boston, Massachusetts-based consultancy Aite Group. These Websites, which are operated by banks or third-party service providers, consolidate bills from multiple billers.
AiteGroup also predicts that between 2006 and 2010 the percentage of U.S. consumer bill payments that are made by check will fall from 54 percent to 37 percent, Aite Group says in a report called ôOnline Bill Payments: Chasing the Next Big Thing.ö Consumer bill payments provide electronic payment processors with strong growth opportunities as consumers migrate from writing and mailing checks to electronic channels, it says. By 2010, U.S. consumers will pay 21.8 billion in recurring bills, up from 19.2 billion this year, Aite Group estimates. It says that around 50 percent of these bills are credit card, utility and phone bills. 
NE>The report notes that cards are emerging as a major force in consumer bill payments, due to a significant rise in the use of debit and credit cards to pay bills. ôBy 2010, 45 percent of the overall U.S. bill payment industryÆs revenues will go to participants in the card processing value chain, up from 34 percent in 2006,ö it says.
