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Financial-institution customers who use online bill-payment services are more likely to use other bank products, including debit and credit cards and ATMs, and tend to stay out of branches, Geoff Knapp, vice president of online banking and consumer insights at Fiserv Inc., tells CardLine. "We see the [customer] relationship tied to deeper usage of other financial-institution services, so it's tied to higher balances, lower attrition rates and higher profitability," he says. "If you can get customers to engage by paying bills online, then other areas will grow dramatically." A recent Fiserv survey of 3,029 consumers found that more online bill payers have other bank products than do those who do not use the service: 80% use ATMs compared with 69% who do not use online bill payment; 67% have a savings account compared with 62% of nonusers; 61% have a debit card compared with 50% of nonusers; 17% have a money-market account compared with 11% of nonusers, and 14% have certificates of deposit compared with 10% of nonusers. Fiserv also found that 49% of consumers surveyed said they were less likely to switch banks because of a positive experience with online bill payment, up from 43% who said so in a similar survey last year. And 67% of online bill-pay users would recommend it to a friend or relative.
