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Kiosks can provide a good source of funds for billing companies and a useful service for consumers, according to a report released this week by the Mercator Advisory Group. Maynard, Mass.-based Mercator estimates that the potential market for kiosk-based bill payment totals 50 million consumers, not all of whom lack bank accounts. Consumers who use kiosks to pay bills represent a group that includes those with and without bank accounts, George Peabody, principal analyst at Mercator, tells CardLine. The number of consumers with bank accounts who pay bills at kiosks will grow as the economy worsens, Peabody says. "As credit tightens, people are going to be making more and more last minute payments, and this is a (rational) way to do that," Peabody says. "As more middle-class people get exposed to these kinds of devices, they'll think of the kiosks as an alternative method to pay bills." Companies that want kiosks to succeed should make paying bills simple, Peabody says. Self-ticketing at airport kiosks provides a good model for the level of simplicity need, though consumers may need to provide more information, such as an account number, to pay a bill, Peabody says. Companies can benefit from bill-pay kiosks because the payments come in the form of cash, which limits the risk of fraudulent checks, credit cards and prepaid cards, while reducing other hassles, such as declined checks and processing payments, Peabody says.
