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NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT:
Michael Herd
mherd@nacha.org
Online Bill Payment Comes of Age, May Exceed $200
Billion in 2003, According to NACHA
Herndon, Virginia, May 27, 2003—Online bill payment increased sharply during the first three months of 2003, according to NACHA – The
Electronic Payments Association, continuing a trend experienced throughout 2002. NACHA estimates that the dollar amount of online bill payments may exceed $200 billion in 2003.
"Online bill payment is now a mainstream consumer activity," said Elliott C. McEntee, President and Chief Executive Officer of NACHA. "Tens of
millions of consumers now pay bills online, and the potential for continuing growth is substantial."
During the first quarter of 2003, NACHA estimates that more than $48 billion in online bill payments were made in which the Automated Clearing House
(ACH) Network was the payment system used. That figure is half of the amount of $96 billion for all of 2002. At the current growth rate, the amount would exceed $200 billion for all of 2003. In
contrast, a recent survey estimated online sales figures of $76 billion for 2002 and $96 billion for 2003.
Consumers can pay bills online at their financial institutions' web sites, at billing companies' web sites, through third-party bill payment
services, and through some personal financial management software packages. The benefits include the convenience of doing your banking and paying your bills whenever you want, better control over your
finances, and the savings from eliminating postage costs.
According to Gartner Inc., the most popular use of online bill payment is viewing and paying credit card bills. Credit card issuers have been
the leaders in presenting consumer bills on their web sites and accepting payments online. After viewing their credit card bills, consumers can make payments by providing their checking account
information. The payments are routed to the consumers' financial institutions via the ACH Network.
The ACH Network has been in use for 30 years, and is commonly used for Direct Deposit, Direct Payment, business-to-business payments, federal tax
payments, and, increasingly, e-checks and online bill payments. The ACH Network serves 20,000 financial institutions, 3.5 million businesses, and 135 million individuals. In 2002 there were almost 9
billion ACH payments made worth more than $24.4 trillion.
About NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association
NACHA is the leading organization in developing electronic solutions to improve the payments system. NACHA represents more than 12,000
financial institutions through direct memberships and a network of regional payments associations, and 650 organizations through its industry councils. NACHA develops operating rules and business practices for
the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network and for electronic payments in the areas of Internet commerce, electronic bill and invoice presentment and payment (EBPP, EIPP), e-checks, financial electronic data
interchange (EDI), international payments, and electronic benefits transfer (EBT). Visit NACHA on the Internet at www.nacha.org.
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