Five Ways To Market Online Bill Payment

By Jan Mooney

Proactively marketing online bill payment can bring significant benefits to credit unions. Studies have found that members who pay bills online are more profitable and more loyal. Not only do online bill payers have more accounts than those banking offline, but they also tend to have greater balances. In addition, customers who pay their bills online cost less to serve, according to Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research.

Credit unions have seen significant growth among new providers of electronic billing and payment. This growth presents unique marketing opportunities.

Here are five ways credit unions can attract and keep more of these valuable online bill members while improving the bottom line:

1. Go free. Price is the top barrier for many consumers to try electronic billing and payment, a Forrester report notes. Relationship benefits (higher balances, cross-sales, and moving the member contact online) can financially offset the cost of offering bill payment for free. If it’s not feasible for your credit union, however, ask for a low minimum account balance or charge a fee of less than $5 per month.

2. Encourage employees to pay online. Offer online bill payment free to member service representatives and branch associates even if you can’t offer it free to members. Once your employees use the service, they can sell it more efficiently to members. Offer incentives to branch associates to use or to refer bill payment to members. For example, you may want to conduct monthly drawings for $50 gift certificates from a pool of branch associates who have paid their own bills online or referred a member.

3. Maximize your "white space advertising." Consider advertising online bill payment through member touch points such as interactive voice response messages, automated teller machine receipts, statement envelopes, the credit union Web site, or branch signage. Another opportunity is to highlight online bill payment in a monthly or bimonthly newsletter.

4. Lead with benefits. Promote online bill payment with other features. For example, lead with a major feature, such as competitive interest rates on deposit accounts. Follow up with online bill payment as a way to maximize the efficiencies of the deposit account. Finally, consistently communicate the many benefits of online bill payment: time savings, organization of records, and cash flow control.

5. It's all in the timing. Specific time periods during the year tend to be more effective than others for marketing online bill payment. They are:

• January, when members are making personal-finance New Year’s resolutions;
• March, while members are preparing their taxes for April and thinking about their finances; and
• June/July, when the year is half over and members are thinking about their financial picture for the rest of the year. It’s also the time of year when members incur expenses from vacations or other summer activities.

Jan Mooney is vice president of electronic commerce marketing, client planning, and communication for Norcross, Ga.-based CheckFree’s electronic billing and payment business. Contact Jan at 678-375-3000 or at jmooney@checkfree.com.