There is a powerful reason that statement printing and mailing remains essential: Many millions of customers still want to receive their bills this way.
It’s true that secure emails and text messages with links to billing statements and other transactional communications are now the top choices for most consumers. But a large minority, roughly 42%, prefer some or all their bills produced as hard-copy documents and mailed to them, according to ACI Speedpay research.
Catering to each customer’s billing and payment preferences is the cornerstone for delivering the kinds of customer experiences that drive consumer satisfaction and loyalty. This focus on choice, ease of use and convenience is critical to engaging customers, so they are more inclined to act promptly on their bills, driving more on-time payments, strong cash flow and growing revenues.
Simply providing printed and mailed statements is no longer enough, however, to satisfy changing consumer expectations. The fact is, generic billing statements are increasingly ineffective, especially if consumers are confused by legalese, acronyms and jargon and put off dealing with them. To meet customer expectations and lower barriers to payment, companies instead need to create personalized bills with easy-to-understand content, layout and design.
Advances in document composition technology, production equipment and mailing services are transforming what’s possible with statement printing and mailing. Companies can leverage best-in-class solutions for customer communications management, printing, inserting and mailing to enhance CX while also benefiting from a high level of automation, efficiency and productivity.
Consumers’ need for statement printing and mailing
Mailed paper bills have an enduring appeal. Many people find them:
- simpler to review
- a visual reminder to pay the bill
- a physical record for tracking spending and for taxes
- easier for individuals with visual or cognitive impairments to manage, with the ability to request bills printed in larger-sized fonts
Digital challenges are keeping some customers tied to mailed statements. There’s a risk of missed emails due to spam filters, inbox clutter, or technical issues, which could lead to missed payments. Some customers also worry about the security of emails and text messages that contain sensitive billing and personal information.
For others, mailed statements are a necessity rather than a choice. As of January 2025, about 8% of U.S. households did not subscribe to home internet services, 8% didn’t have a smartphone and 4%, or about 5 million people, didn’t have a home computer, according to HighSpeedInternet.com.
Legal considerations
Primarily as a cost-saving move, some companies have tried to push people to give up printed and mailed statements by charging fees for them. A Citibank pilot program required customers to switch to electronic statements or lose access to their online accounts.
To protect consumers’ access to paper statements, a proposed federal bill bars banks from requiring monthly digital statements as a condition of service. In April 2025, the Illinois House passed a bill prohibiting companies from charging extra fees for paper statements, and the state senate is expected to take up the bill later this year.
Beyond statements, demand for print and mail remains strong because of legal requirements to send certain documents by mail, often to demonstrate compliance with deadlines and consumer receipt or to serve legal notice. These communications can be related to billing statements, such as foreclosure notices due to unpaid mortgage or auto loans.
Building better statement printing and mailing
Given ongoing demand for transactional mailings, companies can take advantage of leading-edge technology at every step of the communications development and delivery process. These technologies give companies the necessary capabilities, services and vendor support to realize their strategic goals for enhancing CX and cost efficiencies in statement printing and mailing.
- Cloud omnichannel customer communications management platform. For the best results, companies need to start upstream at statement development. A CCM system allows companies to create and manage customized bills and other communications not just for print and mail but email and text messaging, too. Leading platforms enable reviews and approvals, updates, tracking, reporting and analysis, and archiving.
- Specialized printing and inserting equipment. Leading providers use the latest high-speed, roll-fed printers that enable dynamic variable color and personalization for statement printing. The providers match the continuous-feed inkjet printers with high-speed inserters that accept rolls straight from the print equipment as well as cut sheets.
- Advanced and automated processes. Production management software can track each job as well as individual pieces throughout production for greater quality control. And software enables highly automated processes with no-touch workflows to improve safety, productivity and output.
- Optimized mailing. To control costs and track delivery in the face of frequent postal increases and USPS operational changes, companies need print and mail partners that:
- Negotiate the best USPS rates.
- Process mail through USPS’ NCOA, CASS and DPV databases for address verification.
- Leverage USPS’ Intelligent Mail® barcodes (IMb) and the Informed Visibility® Mail Tracking and Reporting (IV®-MTR) system to automatically providing near-real-time status updates of domestic mailings.
- Comingle with ZIP code presorting from multiple senders for client savings.
- Offer USPS’ ACS™ service for correcting wrong addresses on statements already in the mail stream or destroying undeliverable mail, eliminating return mail processing.
- Handle skip tracing.
- Provide Automate Certified Mail, including delivery verification with electronic signature.
Many companies will find a complete solution combining an omnichannel CCM platform and digital and print and mail production and delivery services will give them the greatest control and flexibility for statement printing and mailing as well as digital communications. With a single dashboard, companies can streamline development and management of customer communications across channels, reducing operational complexity while delivering seamless customer experiences at each mail, email and text touchpoint.
Please contact us for more information about optimizing statement printing and mailing.
