• Home
  • Education
  • News and Resources
  • Advocacy
  • Associate Members
  • Contact
  • Click to open the search input field Click to open the search input field Search
  • Menu Menu
News
Member News, News

Reimagining the Bill Pay Experience

Woman using laptop

How financial institutions can meet evolving consumer expectations

Financial institutions are witnessing a rapid evolution in bill pay fueled by nonbank competitors, COVID-19 and constantly rising consumer expectations. It’s a complex challenge that calls for flexibility and a willingness to expand the definition of bill pay beyond the basic task of paying a bill.

The pandemic is driving rapid innovation and accelerating the use of digital tools. However, for years before COVID-19, large fintechs had emerged to focus exclusively on consumer payments, including bill pay.

By working from the outside, fintechs could focus on payments without consideration of existing banking infrastructure, integrations and other factors that financial institutions must keep in mind. Fintechs have used that advantage to innovate and connect with consumers, and that is a challenge to traditional financial services companies to up their game.

Financial institutions, though, have their own advantages. Zelle® is a prime example of recapturing person-to-person (P2P) payments and expanding to small-business payments with a real-time, convenient and secure service.

But every payment is under the microscope. Consumer expectations are going through the roof as people look for more convenience, ease of use and more advisory experiences. While that started in areas such as P2P, transfers and disbursements, heightened expectations are expanding to bill pay.

Financial institutions can continue to innovate and deliver on customer expectations when it comes to the next generation of payments. Here’s how.

Become an Extension of the Biller

The question for financial institutions around bill pay is how to make it more modern and intuitive.

Let’s say I go to my cellphone company’s site to pay the bill and notice it’s much higher than usual. The site will show me why. Maybe one phone in the plan exceeded the data cap.

That leads to prompts: Do I want to change my plan? Do I want to upgrade? Did I know I’m eligible for a new phone? Suddenly, my cellphone company is offering a complete advisory experience. And, like most people, I almost always go to the cellphone company’s site – or any other biller’s site – to make a real-time or last-minute bill payment using a credit or debit card.

Financial institutions recognize their bill pay experiences don’t always measure up. There are gaps in the user experience and payment features. But they also recognize their legacy technology does the foundational things well.

The benefit of financial institution bill pay is it’s a consolidated experience, a place where consumers can go to pay all their bills. They don’t have to remember all the different passwords or put payment reminders in their calendars. The fact that a financial institution can do all of that in one place is a value proposition that resonates.

But then people experience it and say, “Oh, I can’t pay with my card. I can’t make last-minute payments. And I’m not getting the advisory experience I’m used to.” So they don’t make the switch to the channel.

Closing the gaps to offer the same benefits and services as biller sites requires financial institutions take advantage of their strong foundation while adding flexibility to deliver a modern, intuitive user experience.

Leverage Data to Offer Meaningful Insights

Financial institutions know who people are paying. So why not streamline the bill pay setup process by presenting those billers to consumers right from the start?

Financial institutions can also identify other relevant billers in a user’s area to serve up as possibilities. Biller setup is the first step, and when financial institutions leverage data and analytics to be more advisory, they have a higher likelihood of engaging consumers.

The possibilities of how financial institutions can use data keep expanding. Eventually, leveraging data and analytics to close gaps in the experience will lead to predictive reminders.

With those reminders, financial institutions may see that a consumer paid a biller on the 15th for the past three months. But this month, the consumer hasn’t scheduled the payment. So on the fifth of the month, for instance, the financial institution could ask the consumer if the payment should be scheduled.

The focus is on using data to be smarter and make people’s lives easier, whether through automatic payments or notifications and alerts.

Embrace Real Time

When financial institutions are proactive, they’re anticipating what’s next in terms of meeting consumer expectations. Real-time bill pay is on the horizon.

It starts with a request to pay, which is an actionable alert indicating a payment is due. The user receives the request to pay from the biller through the financial institution and can pay the bill immediately. When the user responds with “pay now,” a real-time confirmation is delivered, creating a sense of comfort and trust for the consumer that the payment was made.

For processing the real-time payment, there are several methods available and others on the horizon, including direct settlement real-time networks, such as The Clearing House and the FedNowSM Service, and the card networks.

The goal is to give consumers the most real-time payment choices with the most billers. That’s the next generation of experiences, and the industry is at the doorstep of a new world for bill pay.

Building on a Strong Foundation

At its heart, the bill pay challenge facing financial institutions filters down to one basic task: creating a comprehensive, enriched experience that meets consumer expectations.

The bill pay environment right now is complex, with emerging competitors and accelerated expectations, especially during a pandemic. But financial institutions are well-positioned to take the next step in bill pay.

They have the trust and loyalty of consumers and an established foundation of technology and data that competitors lack. Closing those user experience gaps and embracing the next generation of bill pay is how financial institutions can bring together the best of both worlds for consumers.

By, Cassie Krause

Print 🖨
July 22, 2021/by Jose De La Rosa
Tags: News, Wisconsin Banker Daily
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on X
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/fiserv-banner.jpg 1200 2400 Jose De La Rosa https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg Jose De La Rosa2021-07-22 13:53:422022-06-27 14:16:20Reimagining the Bill Pay Experience
You might also like
Meet Andrew Harmening: New Associated Bank President and CEO Talks Business Strategy, WBA, and Cheese Curds
Juneteenth flag Quick Signage Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday Raising Questions under TILA
SBA Releases New Procedure for SBA Loan Review of Partial Approval Forgiveness Decisions
Row of seats, papers, and cups at conference table Looking For a Good Director Candidate? This Organization Can Help, Says Wisconsin Bank CEO
Gavel, legal papers, and statue arranged on table with books in background Recent WI Supreme Court Cases Affirm DNR Authority to Place Permit Restrictions on Farms and High-Capacity Wells
Family with hands cupped together holding up patch of soil with plant growing out of it Sen. Baldwin on Wisconsin’s Ag Industry, “Vital to a Strong Rural Economy”
Bank sign Advancing Your Culture
Silhouettes of Business People Working in Board Room Fifty Years and Counting: Reflections on a Lifetime Career in Banking
Search Search

Categories

  • Advocacy
  • Community
  • Compliance
  • Credit Unions
  • Education
  • Member News
  • News
  • Products
  • Resources
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • North Shore Bank New West De Pere Branch to Open June 23
  • One Community Bank Announces 2025 Scholarship Recipients
  • Wolf River Community Bank’s New Scholarship Program Awards $1,500 to Area High School Seniors
  • Parker Kruckenberg Has Been Promoted to Commercial Banking Officer
  • Committee Chair Spotlight: Get to Know WBA’s 2025–2026 Ag Section Chair Nicholas Felder

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
Wisconsin Bankers Association logo
  • About
  • Community
  • Subsidiaries
  • Staff

questions@wisbank.com

608-441-1200

4721 S Biltmore Ln.
Madison, WI 53718

Get our Newsletter!
Subscribe

© 2025 Wisconsin Bankers Association. All rights reserved. | Website Design by Bizzy Bizzy
Link to: Meet Andrew Harmening: New Associated Bank President and CEO Talks Business Strategy, WBA, and Cheese Curds Link to: Meet Andrew Harmening: New Associated Bank President and CEO Talks Business Strategy, WBA, and Cheese Curds Meet Andrew Harmening: New Associated Bank President and CEO Talks Business... Link to: Recent WI Supreme Court Cases Affirm DNR Authority to Place Permit Restrictions on Farms and High-Capacity Wells Link to: Recent WI Supreme Court Cases Affirm DNR Authority to Place Permit Restrictions on Farms and High-Capacity Wells Gavel, legal papers, and statue arranged on table with books in backgroundRecent WI Supreme Court Cases Affirm DNR Authority to Place Permit Restrictions...
Scroll to top Scroll to top Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more×

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Terms of Use
Accept settingsHide notification only

Subscribe

* indicates required








Membership