Biller-direct electronic bill presentment and payments (EBPP) are clear consumer favorites, with roughly 6 out of 10 consumers preferring to make both one-time and recurring payments using the biller’s EBPP-enabled website, mobile app or interactive voice response (IVR) system, according to first-half 2025 research by ACI Speedpay.
EBPP also drives better business results. Online payments, including using ACH and credit cards, accelerate cash flow because they are often processed instantly while mailed checks take days or weeks to arrive. Processing costs for paper checks also are much higher because billers or lockbox services must open, sort and deposit them. Recording and reconciling online payments are automated.
But customer preferences don’t necessarily translate into EBPP use. Too many organizations are failing to keep up with customers’ changing payment behaviors and rising expectations, frustrating and driving away EBPP users. InvoiceCloud’s 2026 research found:
- 80% of consumers don’t trust payment platforms that appear outdated.
- 55% of consumers have abandoned an online bill payment because the website or process felt unsafe or confusing.
To retain current users and encourage digital adoption by more consumers, companies need to adopt customer-first EBPP solutions and best practices. One must-have: Seamless integration with print and digital billing statements and other transactional communications to leverage synergies that decrease the time gap between receiving bills and paying them. Customer engagement also centers on simple, convenient and secure payment processes and options that suit a variety of consumer preferences.
Key EBPP features for better CX and cash flow
As retail and ecommerce payments and other online experiences rapidly evolve, especially AI-driven innovations, consumers expect their auto finance, mortgage, utility, HOA, healthcare and other organizations to offer many of the same features for paying their loans, leases, bills and fees. For improving accounts receivable and past-due collections, it’s all about cloud EBPP solutions that remove barriers to payment and simplify action.
1. Integration with customer communication management (CCM) platforms
Managing the lifecycle of consumer billing and payments from a single system consolidates control and streamlines complex processes. A CCM platform allows companies to personalize and orchestrate communications timing, messaging and channels to encourage payment or other desired actions.
Companies that combine CCM and EBPP:
- Add secure QR codes, Pay Now and other texting keywords, and payment links, including one-click payments, to paper and digital billing statements and due-date reminders to enable prompt payments.
- Automate sending email, text and mobile app alerts if a payment hasn’t been received by a certain date. Some 22% of consumers don’t use online payment channels because they don’t receive payment reminders, according to a 2026 InvoiceCloud survey.
- Enable consumers, who no longer distinguish among online, mobile, and physical touchpoints, to seamlessly receive bills, view account histories, and make payments across all channels.
2. Mobile first
Mobile phones and smartwatches offer unmatched convenience and ease of use, leveraging biometric logins (Face ID/fingerprint) for faster access and the ability to pay instantly from biller apps. As of now, 45% of consumers prefer paying bills using a mobile device, up substantially from 29% last year, InvoiceCloud reports.
Notably, lower-income consumers show the highest mobile preference at 72%, InvoiceCloud found. Mobile supports accessibility because it’s the only online channel for paying essential bills that people without home internet services can securely use. In fact, 16% of U.S. adults are smartphone-only internet users, up from 8% in 2013, according to the Pew Research Center.
3. Payment choice
In addition to credit and debit cards and ACH, newer payment methods including mobile wallets and buy now, pay later (BNPL) are catching on for monthly bills. Mobile wallets, including ApplePay and GooglePay, offer secure payment shortcuts with preloaded contact and payment information. Of the 46% of consumers who used mobile wallets in the first half of 2025, 91% tapped them to make a monthly bill payment, ACI Speedpay found.
4. Latest data security to reduce payment steps
Nothing drives away a consumer faster than confusing navigation or the hassle of jumping through multiple authentication hoops for the privilege of paying their bill. Yes, security is vital but so much of it is time-consuming, frustrating and involving several devices.
In addition to accepting payments from digital wallets, companies can:
- Use digital credentials and tokenization to store customer payment information so returning users can authorize payments with a single click without re-entering card or ACH information.
- Enable one-click payment links that carry a secure session token.
- Implement risk-based authentication (RBA) that evaluates risk signals (device used, IP location, and time of day). Low-risk, routine payments can move forward with minimal authentication while RBA triggers multifactor authentication (MFA) for suspicious or high-dollar transactions.
5. Fast processing and real-time confirmations
With people struggling to make ends meet each month, many are forced to juggle the timing of bill payments. As a result, 28% of consumers made at least one urgent or same-day payment in the prior 12 months ending June, 2025, ACI Speedpay Pulse reports. Faced with this situation, 34% want to make urgent payments using the biller website, 16% with the biller app and 3.5% via IVR but 20% with a customer service representative (CSR).
Billers that record and confirm same-day online payments can save their customers late fees and other penalties, improving their satisfaction and reinforcing EBPP’s value. Promoting same-day posting to customers offers an opportunity to shift more payments online and away from costly CSRs.
6. Self-service
Customers want to access their accounts and bills at will. They want to make payments when it’s convenient for them. And they want the ability to automate recurring payments, set up payment plans and change both as needed. EBPP platforms enable all of this.
7. AI enhancements
Leaders are rolling out AI support to facilitate online consumer payments, including AI agents and chatbots within the EBPP platform to guide users through self-service portals and answer questions. Some organizations are moving to predictive outreach, with AI analyzing individual payment patterns to predict when a customer might struggle to pay and determining the best communication time and channel. Others are using AI for intelligent routing of payments to ensure they go through.
A lot is riding on billers getting EBPP right. Not only are consumer-focused electronic bill presentment and payments key to keeping customers satisfied and loyal, but they can be major tools for helping companies meet their 2026 priority of accelerating reliable cash flow and working capital to fund growth, AI and other investments.
Fortunately, EBPP is increasingly woven into the daily lives of many consumers. To benefit, billers need to make EBPP as attractive as possible for users, so it becomes the default channel for more customers. Growth in online payments, in turn, will let companies rapidly convert accounts receivable into liquid cash and increase available funds, enabling more operational resilience and flexibility and positioning them for greater success.
Contact us today for more information.
Key Takeaways:
- The right biller-direct electronic bill presentment and payments (EBPP) service accelerates cash flow and increase working capital to fund growth, AI and other investments.
- Many biller EBPP solutions need to add important features to meet rising consumer expectations for integration with billing communications and across channels.
- Customer engagement with EBPP centers on simple, convenient and secure payment processes and options that suit a variety of consumer preferences.
