Has e-billing crossed the chasm?

In his landmark book, Crossing the Chasm (HarperBusiness, New York, 1991), Geoffrey Moore maps out the adoption lifecycle of what he calls high technology.

It is arguable that e-billing as a business process has achieved significant adoption.

Alison Wright, Sales and Marketing Director, Striata

At the start of the curve, Moore calls the `techies` that experiment with new technology, the innovators; enthusiasts who appreciate the technology for its own sake. The next group likely to pilot a new technology is the early adopters, who implement in full understanding of the risk.

Moore then describes what he says is the critical phase in the lifecycle, and the point at which a technology is most likely to fail. He calls this the chasm.

On the other side of Moore`s chasm are the groups that will really accelerate the adoption of a technology. The pragmatists are not pioneers by nature, they like to see reference sites, read success stories and speak to peers who have implemented. If they`re satisfied, they`ll kick-off the mass market purchasing.

So to assess where e-billing sits in the adoption lifecycle, it helps to have a view of which organisations are doing what in this space. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but does provide insight into the adoption levels in the South African market.

Starting with financial services: primary retail banks have all implemented e-billing in various areas of their business. Standard Bank is arguably ahead in published numbers, sending electronic statements on its cheque and savings accounts. Nedbank and its joint venture, American Express Cards, both offer electronic statement options to selected corporate cardholders.

Absa provides the service to its Vehicle & Asset Finance customers, and has recently extended this to credit cardholders. FNB offers the option of electronic statements for its corporate cardholders as well as to its Wesbank dealers and fleet customers.

Other financial services companies that have adopted e-billing to various degrees are Investec, SCMB, Diners Club, Gensec and AIG.

In the telecommunications industry: Vodacom Service Provider Company`s Vodasurf allows subscribers to access their account information, billing and subscriber information through the Internet. Tiscali Cellular offers its clients e-billing options, as does business-to-business cellular provider, Smartcom. Nashua Mobile delivers bills by secure e-mail and also has a Web presentation offering, enabling customers to access billing information on a secure site.

MTN`s CallQuest service enables subscribers to access their call details on the Web. Telkom recently launched its e-billing offering, with intentions to present Telkom invoices to larger corporate and business accounts as well as residential customers electronically.

The government is also getting on the bandwagon, with the City of Johannesburg providing an e-mail statement service to interested residents.

In other industries: MultiChoice South Africa offers DStv subscribers the option to receive statements by e-mail. A recent announcement by Afrox indicates its intention to offer e-billing to customers. The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants provides electronic statements to its members.

When you consider the progress that`s been made by some of SA`s biggest billers, it is arguable that e-billing as a business process has achieved significant adoption. Which means the underlying technologies are also entering the accelerated growth phase.

While SA`s online community may be small in numbers, we are a tech-savvy bunch, and when a technology adds value and efficiency to our lives, South Africans seem to be open to new ideas.