When it comes to statement printing and mailing, companies aren’t just buying paper and postage, they’re buying outcomes. If customers’ invoices are late or inaccurate, organizations feel it in delayed payments and reduced trust.
From secure data intake to piece-level tracking and digital fallbacks, the right statement printing services partner treats every customer communication like a revenue-critical, compliance-timed event. Use these six criteria to benchmark your current vendor and to guide your next RFP:
1. Compliance and data security
Data and cybersecurity sit at the core of every print operation. Leading statement printing and mailing providers handle large volumes of confidential customer information, including personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI), and understanding compliance regulations is vital. Ask about SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA certifications, role-based access, audit trails and documented chain of custody. Also request recent audit reports and incident-response testing results.
The business case is clear: The average global data breach cost $4.88 million in 2024, driven by lost business, regulatory fines, downtime, and other financial repercussions, according to IBM. Finance and healthcare industry impacts are even higher, so weak governance in statement printing and mailing services is an expensive risk.
2. Print integrated with digital delivery options
A cloud omnichannel Customer Communications Management (CCM) platform lets companies create, update and manage customer communications. Best-in-class print and mail partners provide CCM software aligned with print, email production and distribution and electronic bill presentation and payment (EBPP). The synergy delivers measurable payoffs: A 2024 Fiserv study found nearly four in five (79%) consumers receive digital bill alerts and reminders, and 67% appreciate them. Consumer trust in digital payment options is almost three times greater than payment by mail.
In credit and collections, mortgage, utilities and auto finance, timely digital reminders plus easy digital pay options can reduce payment delinquency while complementing print and mail for regulated notices. The bottom line for companies is that consumers want choices in how they receive communications and in how to pay what they owe.
3. Transactional expertise and SLA discipline
Transactional print and mail isn’t direct mail. Your statement printing and mailing partner should demonstrate mastery in producing complex, regulated content and meeting time-sensitive deadlines for such communications as:
- Patient billing statements in healthcare
- Adverse action notices in auto finance and consumer credit
- HOA election communications in property management
- Escrow analyses and ARM change notices in mortgage servicing
Look for partners that offer software-driven version control and approval, optimized print workflows, exception/reprint handling, and clear SLAs beginning with file receipt through USPS induction—reported in a dashboard with customizable views.
4. Mailing strategy for cost control and predictable delivery
Postal optimization converts directly to savings. Presort/commingle expertise and end-to-end mail tracking improve predictability and reduce spend, which is critical as postal rates rise. USPS rates rose more than 7% in July, when the one-ounce price for First-Class mail hit 78 cents. Meanwhile, only 89% of First-Class mail arrived on time in FY2025 ended September 30, even as volume fell by 3.7 billion pieces.
Your statement printing and mailing partner should model postage scenarios and suggest cost-saving options for mailing packages where appropriate. Options could include duplex printing and lighter weight paper stock for certain types of mailings, such as proxy materials.
5. Address quality and return-mail reduction
Undeliverable-As-Addressed (UAA) mail drives waste, compliance risk and missed payments. Insist on embedded National Change of Address (NCOA), CASS™ Certification and Delivery Point Validation (DPV) protocols. Also add ACS™, a premium USPS address change service that catches undeliverable addresses not yet in the NCOA database and provides updates electronically.
Just as important: Automated return-mail processing that digitizes images, codes root causes, and feeds corrections back. USPS maintains current UAA statistics and industry breakouts; use them to benchmark your vendor’s results.
6. Advanced technology that offers speed and precision
Look for cutting-edge technology in a statement printing and mailing partner: High-speed, roll-fed color inkjet “white-paper factory” production with inline MICR as needed, dynamic perforation and intelligent inserting, and capacity to absorb volume spikes without missing a beat.
Production processing should include camera-based match/merge to validate every page and envelope. Dual-site redundancy in the event of a business disruption is considered a best practice.
Choosing a statement printing and mailing partner is a control decision, not a commodity purchase. A modern partner combines rigorous compliance, transactional discipline, postal expertise, address hygiene, omnichannel orchestration, and tested resilience.
Use the six checks to identify true transactional print and mail specialists to ensure your statement printing and mailing program consistently delivers, even as costs and expectations rise.
Key takeaways:
- Choose a transactional statement printing and mailing partner that provides top-shelf service, accuracy, timing and traceability, because compliance and customer experience depend on it.
- Opt for a provider with a single platform for developing and distributing print, email and text customer communications for greater efficiency, cost optimization and consistent CX across channels.
- Reduce cost and exceptions and speed workflows by leveraging a partner’s advanced production technology, redundant locations, postal optimization and address hygiene.
If you’re exploring your options in transactional print and mail services, please contact us today.
