Survey rates women top in online payment trend

Research sponsored by Diebold Incorporated has rated women top in online payment survey conducted recently by a research centre on Consumer Billing and Payment Trends.

Diebold is known to offer a comprehensive line of self-service, security and service solutions, with successful line of Opteva ATMs, advanced teller-automation technology and remote teller systems, solutions are changing the way the world accesses cash and the way financial institutions interact with customers.

The 2010 survey showed that online banking, bill payment and e-bill usage have continued to grow, and that the online bill payment population has changed significantly during the last decade.

According to the survey, between 2000 and 2010, the number of households that use online banking increased more than six-fold, and the number that use online bill payment increased nearly eight-fold.

“Online bill payers now represent a wide cross-section of the United States population, and women have edged out men as the primary users of the service,” part of the survey outcome stated.

During the course of the Consumer Billing and Payment Trends survey, online bill payment has moved into the mainstream, which is currently, 72.5 million U.S. households, 80 percent of all households with Internet access, use online banking, while 36.4 million households, 40 percent of all households with Internet access, use online bill payment.

In 2002, men represented the majority of online bill payers, at 61 per cent, and they maintained the lead in usage of the service through 2009.

In 2010, the tables turned, with women edging ahead to represent 51 per cent of online bill payers.

The survey further indicated that nowadays, the age of online bill payers is also more representative of the entire U.S. population than when the study began.

In 2002, more than half of online bill payers were between the ages of 35 and 54. In 2010, consumers age 21-34 made up 28 percent of online bill payers, consumers age 35-54 made up 48 percent, and consumers over age 55 made up a sizeable 24 percent of all online bill payers, underscoring the fact that the service is not only for the young.

Consumers of all income levels, the report said, have embraced online bill payment as well. In 2002, middle income consumers dominated use of the service, whereas in 2010 more than a third of online bill payers had a yearly household income of less than $50,000. Usage among the highest income brackets has grown as well.

“The face of online bill payment has changed significantly over the last decade,” said Geoff Knapp, vice president, Online Banking and Consumer Insights, Fiserv.

“Early users were tech-savvy and tended to be young and male, as is typical with new technology. Now it’s moms and seniors and people at all income levels using the service. Online bill payment has become mainstream, and there’s still room to grow.”


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