The E-mail Corporation has announced it is moving into the Electronic Bill Presentation and Payment (EBPP) arena. EBPP, a paperless system for sending invoices and returning payments, has been widely characterised as the next "killer app" and is creating a great deal of interest in e-commerce circles.
"The explosive growth in the Internet has opened the doors for a paradigm shift in the way we send invoices," says Mike Wright, CEO of The E-mail Corporation in South Africa. "E-billing is the future of invoice and statement delivery in this country."
EBPP has proved to be highly effective in the United States. Researchers at PSI Global estimate that by 2003, 50% of US bills will be paid electronically. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of high volume billers in the US, reports that 65% of respondents plan to offer electronic billing to customers within the next year.
In SA, the statistics are not as high, but definite steps are being taken to implement EBPP in the near future.
"Recent postal strikes and the resulting backlog in delivery has created in a high level of interest in a paperless billing system, says Wright. "And although SA is not as progressive as the US with regard to e-billing, our clients are expecting rapid market growth in the coming years."
The E-mail Corporation, a Johannesburg-based company offering a comprehensive suite of electronic communication services and products, has stepped up to the mark as market leaders in the EBPP field.
"With our experience in sending over 4 million e-mails each month, and our reputation of excellence and reliability, we are ideally positioned to aggressively pursue and implement an e-billing infrastructure in SA," says Rolf Eichweber, Chief Operating Officer of The E-mail Corporation. "Our database and Web site technology is perfect for an online billing environment."
The E-mail Corporation boasts an extensive blue-chip client base, comprising financial institutions, telecommunication service providers, news and media agencies, and various e-commerce initiatives.
"There is no doubt that EBPP is poised to explode into the e-commerce arena," says Eichweber. "The E-mail Corporation has recognised the potential in this industry and we feel that we are uniquely positioned to be first movers in this field."
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