Check surveyed* more than 50 utility company professionals in October, asking them about their utility’s mobile billpay strategy.
Or lack thereof. The survey revealed that only 25% of the respondent’s utility companies provided mobile bill pay options for their customers.
But what may be most interesting about the survey are the aspirations that utility company professionals have and challenges they see when it comes to broader adoption of mobile billpay technology. Consider the responses:
Among those professionals who wanted a mobile billpay option, the reasons why were:
- 51% – To reach customers more effectively through their preferred channel
- 24% – To decrease billing costs, including paper costs
- 18% – To increase customer engagement
- 7% – To collect money faster and optimize cash flow
Asked for the top challenges to broader mobile billpay implementation in the utilities industry, the same professionals responded:
- 47% – Vagueness and/or uncertainty about the company’s mobile strategy
- 29% – Lack of IT resources and/or IT prioritization
- 17% – Budget
- 7% – Security and/or compliance concerns
Overcoming these challenges involves building business cases that examine the risk/reward of partnering with existing mobile billpay companies on one hand, and building or buying their own billpay solutions on the other hand. In reaching out to bring mobile billpay to more utility consumers, Check has partnered with Desert Water Agency, Irvine Ranch Water District, and Alltel.
Formerly Pageonce, Check demoed its technology at FinovateSpring 2010 in San Francisco. The company announced the addition of expedited payments in June, and successfuly completed a $24 million dollar Series C funding round in September.
* Check conducted its online survey in October 2013. The survey included responses from 57 utility company professionals whose firms serve more than 2 million customers.