Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Expedite My Online Bill Payment ASAP (For a Fee)
byForgot to make your car payment, and it’s due today? If your online banking service offers an “expedited payments” service, you can still make your payment now, knowing your money will get there yet today, guaranteed. If you haven’t heard about such a service, get ready. Bank marketing teams are sure to be touting such offerings as more banks seek to offer “new and improved” online banking services, for a fee. 
Third-party providers like Yodlee make expedited payments possible. More than 100 financial institutions, including Bank of America, offer the Yodlee service to customers who want (or need) to make same-day payments for credit card, mortgage, auto, insurance, utilities and wireless bills. Customers like the convenience, and apparently are willing to pay for the service. Banks, already facing earnings pressure, credit crunch and deposit-growth dog-fights, like the added revenue a service like Yodlee offers.
And what’s not to like? As cited in a July 22 press release by Yodlee, recent research highlights the interest expedited payments among consumer and banks: Over 35 percent of U.S. consumers use expedited payments today (Edgar Dunn & Co.); 75 percent of the top 50 U.S. banks are offering or planning to offer expedited payments (Aite Group); and fee revenue from expedited payment services will grow to roughly $1.7 billion by 2009—a CAGR of 11 percent (Javelin Strategy & Research).
For banks, using a payment service such as the one offered by Yodlee offers “quick” integration with existing systems, something sure to get the attention of over-taxed IT staffs.
The opportunity for added revenue such a service would generate certainly will capture the attention of the CFO.
And the chance to offer customers faster payment offerings via online banking is sure to put a smile on bank marketing executives’ faces as they gear up for new campaigns to beat competitors to the punch and lock in their fair share of virtual wallet.
Next time you panic when you remember your mortgage is due today, don’t fear, an expedited payment feature is here to help bail you out ASAP, for a small fee.
