Internet monitor World Wide Worx says it has launched SA`s first comprehensive survey on electronic bill presentation and payment - or e-billing. The survey aims to establish the status and potential of e-billing in SA from the perspective of customers and billers.
"With major institutions beginning to send out statements by e-mail, it is clear that electronic billing and payments can transform the way invoices are processed," says Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx.
"The recent launch by Standard Bank of secure electronic delivery of client statements has added momentum to the adoption of e-billing in SA. As a result, more financial institutions and retail outlets are beginning to add secure electronic document delivery to their offering. This, in turn, is resulting in a strong and growing consumer interest."
Goldstuck says the survey should provide invaluable insight into the momentum of e-billing and into how companies here compare with their international counterparts.
Research in the US showed that, at the end of 2000, more than one in five adult Internet users wished to view their bills online and eight million Americans were already using such services. In 2001, the number of online bill payers grew at a rate of 2.5% a week. After the 11 September World Trade Centre attack, 32% of survey respondents said they would consider e-payment of bills.
"Our market is very different, and the time is past for taking international research and trying to superimpose it on the South African market," says Goldstuck. "We need to establish what is happening on the ground, in our own backyard."
The survey will run from the end of August to the end of September. To participate in the e-billing survey, visit www.statistics.co.za.
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