eBilling Benchmarking Websurvey

NACHA's council for Electronic Billing and Payment is sponsoring this research to gather biller perspectives about bill presentment to consumers. This confidential survey measures the extent to which billers have been able to encourage their customers to adopt electronic bills and paperless statements.

o Participants will receive a summary of the research results with industry peer group information at no cost.

o Please complete the survey by December 10th.

o If you need assistance, please contact Ed Bachelder at (781) 662-8584 or email ed.bachelder@bflame.com.

All responses will be held in confidence and report data will be averaged or aggregated to conceal individual responses. Neither participants nor sponsors will receive access to any data containing information linking specific results to a participant.

To begin the survey simply click on the 'next' button below. You can also print the survey questions and save your responses as needed.

Background Information about your Organization

Please provide information about your organization which can be used for industry benchmarking purposes.

	If Other, please specify

3.	Approximately how many customers does your organization currently serve? Please enter whole numbers with no commas.
		Consumer or Residential
		Business or commercial (if applicable)
		Other
		Total

If "Other", please specify type of customer

How are paper bills and statements delivered to your customers? Check all that apply

In-house operations handles bill print and mailing

Out-sourced 3rd party handles bill print and mailing

Other

If "Other", please specify

eBilling Adoption Rates and Metrics

5.	Approximately how many bills, including paper and electronic formats, does your organization generate and distribute to customers during a typical month? Please enter whole numbers with no commas.
		Consumer Accounts
		Business Accounts
		Other
		Total

Does your organization provide customers with options to receive and/or view bills electronically (or online)? Please check all options that are available

Yes - ebills are provided on our website for customers to access online

Yes - ebills are distributed through online banking sites or bill service providers for customers

Yes - eBills are emailed to customers who have enrolled in eBilling

No - We do not offer eBills or paperless statements at this time

If no, when do you anticipate adding eBilling?

By the end of 2011

By the end of 2012

No specific plans

	If no specific plans, why not?

If you do not offer eBills, would you like to continue with the survey which asks some questions you may need to leave blank, or skip to end of survey? Please select an option.

Continue with the survey and skip to "Business Drivers and Cost Considerations" questions

Skip to end of survey

Once a customer elects to receive an eBill, what is your organization’s policy for continuing the delivery of paper statements?

We turn off paper immediately for customers that sign-up for eBills

We continue to mail paper statements for a limited period

We allow ‘double dipping’ with eBills and continue to send paper bills until the customer requests paper turn-off

10.

If you continue to mail paper bills for a limited period, how long is the period before ypu stop sending paper bills?

Months

11.	If applicable, what percentage of bills does your organization distribute to customers through all electronic channels (eBills) during a typical month? Please enter percentage and include a number or 0 before any decimals, i.e. 0.4 or 1.25
		Consumer Accounts	%
		Business Accounts	%
		Other	%
		Total	%

If "Other", please specify type of account

12.	If applicable, approximately what percentage of your organization’s customers have adopted eBills and no longer receive paper statements? Please enter percentage and include a number or 0 before any decimals, i.e. 0.4 or 1.25
	Consumer Accounts	%
	Business Accounts	%
	Other	%
	Total	%

13.	Among your Consumer or Residential customers who receive eBills, what is the approximate percentage delivered by channel? Please enter percentage and include a number or 0 before any decimals, i.e. 0.4 or 1.25
	Through your Website (Biller Direct)	%
	Through Bill Service Provider(s) and Banks	%
	Through Email	%
	Via Text Messaging	%
	Via Smartphone Applications e.g., iPhone, Android	%
	Total	%

14.

Have you seen your customers’ adoption rate for eBills increase since 2008?

Yes, eBill adoption rates have increased

No significant change in adoption rates

Don’t know

15.

What is your approximate Year-over-Year annual growth rate in eBilling volume?

16.	What are your top three obstacles with increasing customer adoption of eBilling? Please Comment.
	First
	Second
	Third

17.	How will mobile devices (e.g., iPhones, Blackberries, etc) influence the adoption of eBilling and paper statement suppression? Please Comment.

18.	What trends or technologies do you see over the next two to five years that may speed up or delay your customers adopting paperless billing and accepting paper statement suppression? Please Comment.

19.

How soon, if ever, do you anticipate a tipping point to when eBills will become more popular than traditional paper bills?

It has already reached the ‘tipping point’

Within one year

One to two years

Two to five years

More than Five

Never

20.	Please comment on your selection above.

Characteristics of your Organization’s eBill Programs

21.

Do you use an ‘Opt-In’ or ‘Opt-Out’ process for customer enrollment in eBills?

Opt-In: Customer must authorize paperless billing and statements

Opt-Out: New customers are automatically enrolled in eBills and must specifically request paper bills and statements

22.	Please indicate the approximate year(s) that your organization first offered customers any of the following eBilling options?
		For viewing and paying Bills directly on your website
		For presenting eBills through a Bank or Bill Service Provider (e.g., Fiserv/CheckFree)
		For distributing eBills and offering paperless statements by email
		For distributing bills in emails, text messages or smartphone ‘apps’ that can be paid directly without having to login to a website

23.

Please indicate which of the following is closest to your organization’s process for enrolling customers in paperless billing and eStatements. Check all that apply

One-Step: We set everything up using pre-populated forms and the customer only needs ‘to click on a box’ or confirm with a representative.

Two-Step: (1) Customers use information from their paper bill to set-up an online account to view bills and statements, then (2) customers need to request or elect paperless eBills and Statements.

Three Step: Same as two-step above, but customer must also provide a PIN (or e-Sign validation) to confirm terms and conditions of eBill and paperless statements.

Customers are encouraged to enroll through a bill consolidator and request that eBills be sent to their bank or bill payment service provider

Other

	If Other, please describe:

24.

Are there any account history limitations for customers’ enrollment in your eBilling programs?

Yes, account balances must be paid and current

Yes, customers who became delinquent using eBilling previously are not allowed to re-enroll

No enrollment restrictions at this time

Other

	If Other, please describe:

25.

How do you let customers know that an eBill is available and is due? Check all that apply

With an email that includes bill amount and due date with the option to make payments by clicking on a ‘Pay Now’ button embedded in the email.

With an email that includes bill amount and due date for a customer to review and make payments after logging into our website.

With an email that only indicates that a bill is available to view on the website.

Consumer specifies when email notification should be sent

With a special ‘app’ developed for ‘smart phones’

With SMS text messages for mobile phones

We do not send text messages

Other:

	If Other, please describe:

26.

If you do not currently offer alerts and/or access to billing information through texts to mobile devices like ‘smart phones’ and PDAs (e.g., Blackberries, iPhones, etc.), do you plan to in the future?

Not yet, but plan to do so within 12 months

Considering it, but it will be more than a year away

No plans at this point

27.	How long a period back in time do you maintain an archive of statements for customer to view online? Please answer one of the following:
		Enter Months, or	Months
		Enter Number of prior billing periods (if not monthly)	Periods

28.

Are you concerned or indifferent about Bill Service Providers or Consolidators that utilize “Screen-scraping” methods to gather billing information for customers? In most screen scraping services, your customer provides their login information to your website and the service collects the bills to present at their service site.

Not at all concerned, provided that our customer has authorized it

Indifferent - Do not care if it helps us move away from paper bills

Very concerned and believe it violates the terms of use

Actively discourage it through IP Blocking and other methods

No opinion

Business Drivers and Cost Considerations

29.

Thinking about the possibility of your customers migrating to eBills, how significant an opportunity is eBill adoption to your organization?

Please Check one

Not at all significant 1

Very Significant 5

30.	Please comment about your rating above:

31.	What do you see as the most compelling benefits of eBilling for your organization? (Where 1 = not compelling and 5 = very compelling)
31.			Not Compelling 1	2	3	4	Very Compelling 5
		Hard dollar cost savings from reducing paper, printing, postage and processing expenses
		Lower billing inquiry costs (Call deflection, self-service)
		Getting paid electronically
		Collecting funds sooner
		Corporate Sustainability/Being Green: Stop sending paper to help the environment
		Improving customer satisfaction
		Other

	If Other, please describe

32.

Does eBilling resolve any customer satisfaction or service issues?

Yes

	Please describe reasons if you responded with yes.

33.

Has eBilling created any “pain” or challenges for your organization?

Yes

	Please describe reasons if you responded with yes.

Lessons Learned and eBill Messaging

34.	What are the most important lessons learned about encouraging the adoption of eBilling by your organization’s customers? Please Describe

	If Other, Please describe:

36.	What types of promotions and messaging have worked best for increasing eBill adoption by your customers and why?
	The Most effective
	2nd Most effective
	3rd Most effective

37.

Approximately what percentage of your customers do you have email addresses that can be used to contact customers for information about eBilling?

38.	From your perspective, please indicate how compelling the following benefits would be for your customers to move from paper to electronic billing statements? (Where 1= not compelling and 5= very compelling)
38.			Not Compelling 1	2	3	4	Very Compelling 5
		Convenience - viewing and clicking to pay in one step
		Getting an email reminder each time a new bill is due
		Can pay bills at the last minute
		Being environmentally friendly - Viewing and paying bills electronically conserves resources and energy
		Can pay bills directly through their bank
		No more stacks of paper and clutter
		Increased convenience and ease
		Electronic bills are more secure than bills received in the mail
		Saves postage and printing expenses for organization sending bill
		Other

	If Other, please describe:

39.

Does your organization currently utilize messaging to customers that stresses environmental benefits of paperless billing and payments? Check all that apply

Yes, have utilized environmental messaging (e.g., save trees, paper, conserve energy, reduce pollution) which we developed on our own

Yes, we utilize environment messaging and also provide ‘Green Calculators’ for estimating paper footprints and sharing informative videos/visuals available through NACHA’s PayItGreen® organization

Yes, Other

No, we do not use environmental messaging

	If you answered 'Yes, Other', please describe:

40.

How effective has ‘green’ messaging been and do you plan to incorporate environmental messaging in your future customer communications and marketing for eBilling?

Green (environmental) messaging is very effective is a primary theme in our eBill marketing

Green (environmental) messaging has become less effective than it was initially so we will enhance it by increasing the use of ‘Green Calculators’ for estimating paper footprints and sharing informative videos/visuals like those provided by the PayItGreen® organization

We will keep ‘green’ themes in our communications, but it will be secondary to other messages and promotions for eBills

It is not effective, we plan to curtail our ‘green’ messaging

Do not know or no plans

41.	What changes do you plan to make in customer communications and messaging about eBilling over the next two years? Please describe:

42.

How supportive and interested is your organization’s senior management team in encouraging eBill adoption and paper suppression?

Very involved - eBill adoption is a top priority and gets needed resources

Supportive - Adequate marketing budget and IT resources to promote eBills

Interested - Provide support, but budgets are limited to cost savings

Minimal - Interested and approve but provide no extra resources

eBilling is not a priority at this time

Financial Benefits

43.

How do the costs involved with distributing eBills compare to those of mailing paper bills and statements?

Overall higher

About the same

Overall lower

44.

What is the approximate annual cost savings per customer account if they adopt eBilling and stop receiving paper statements? Please enter dollar amount including 0 or number before decimal point. i.e. 0.45 or 1.20

What is the difference in cost per bill (or statement)

Estimated annual savings per customer account

45.

If known, what does it cost to produce and deliver: Please enter dollar amount including 0 or number before decimal point. i.e. 0.45 or 1.20

A paper bill (or statement) to a customer

An eBill (or statement) via your own systems to a customer

An eBill (or statement) via your Bill Service Provider to a customer

46.	What is the approximate percentage split between the number of paper-based vs. electronic payments received from customers? Please enter percentage and include a number or 0 before any decimals, i.e. 0.4 or 1.25
		Paper Items including Checks, Cash and Money Orders	%
		Electronic Payments including ACH, Credit, Debit Cards, Wires	%
		Total	%

47.

How do exceptions compare for eBill payments vs. paper bill payments? Exceptions are items that do not post correctly or automatically

More exceptions than paper bills

About the same percentage

Fewer exceptions than paper bills

Don’t know

48.	If you could change one thing about eBilling, what would it be?

49.	Any Observations or General Comments?

Optional Information

This information will; help us analyze the results and aggregate responses by peer group. No information will be released about specific organization's responses.

50.	If you know a more detailed breakdown about the mix of payments received, please enter percentage below: Please enter percentage and include a number or 0 before any decimals, i.e. 0.4 or 1.25
	Paper Items: Checks, Cash and Money Orders. - In-person - Walk-in or Agent	%
	Lockbox - Mail or drop-box	%
	Electronic Payments: Recurring Preauthorized ACH (Auto debit PPD’s)	%
	Online ACH (WEB)	%
	ACH received from a Bill Service Provider (e.g., Fiserv or Bank)	%
	IVR - ACH TEL	%
	Call Center - Live Agent or Representative	%
	Credit or Debit Card	%
	PINless Debit	%
	Other	%
	Total	%

	If you included a response for other, please describe:

51.	What types of solutions and providers are you working with to support eBilling?

52.	How would you describe your customer base by type of location? Please enter percentage and include a number or 0 before any decimals.
		Urban/Metropolitan areas	%
		Rural areas	%

53.

Please estimate the approximate percentage of customers who have computers with internet access at home?

Less than 20%

21% to 40%

41% to 60%

61% to 80%

More than 80%

Do not know

eBilling Benchmarking Survey

All responses will be held in confidence and report data will be averaged or aggregated to conceal individual responses. Neither participants nor sponsors will receive access to any data containing information linking specific results to a participant.

To begin the survey simply click on the 'next' button below. You can also print the survey questions and save your responses as needed.

Background Information about your Organization

Please provide information about your organization which can be used for industry benchmarking purposes.

eBilling Adoption Rates and Metrics

Characteristics of your Organization’s eBill Programs

Business Drivers and Cost Considerations

Lessons Learned and eBill Messaging

Financial Benefits

Optional Information

Thank you! We will send you a summary report in Q1 2011.