* Checks and Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments are the most common forms of bill payment. Automatic debits via ACH are gaining ground quickly against other payment types.
* More than half of respondents have paid bills through biller websites within the last six months. Consumers indicate their main reasons for using these biller websites include saving time/money, speed of delivery and immediate verification of payment. Fifty-seven percent of survey respondents regularly use a biller's website.
* More than a quarter of all phone bill payers are regularly using phone payments, while one-third of respondents have paid through the phone within the last six months. The primary reason cited is speed.
* U.S. mail ranked as the most preferred method for paying bills (28%) followed by biller direct (25%) and bank websites (22%).
* The user base for expedited payment remains fairly constant, with one-in-five respondents using expedited payments in the last 12 months. The frequency of usage of expedited payments is growing.
* Phone is still the most common channel for expedited payments, although the Internet is a close second.
* Expedited payments are most commonly used for credit cards, followed by utilities, car and mortgage loans, phone and cable/dish services and insurance. The use of expedited payments nearly doubled for utilities.
* Respondents were most willing to pay for expedited payments for mortgage and car loans, followed by credit card, insurance, utilities and telecommunications.
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