Transaction Trends

According to new data from ACI Worldwide and Aite Group, while the shift to online payments continues to ascend, there are stark generational differences when it comes to paying bills. The study, How Americans Pay Their Bills, found U.S. consumers spent a record-setting amount on bill payments in 2016 ($3.9 trillion).

Principal findings include:

• Approximately 8.2 billion bills—or 56 percent of all bills—are paid online via a biller, bank or third-party website.
• Bills paid by check declined 20 percent between 2010 and 2016, while the number of bills paid via ACH increased by 10 percent, and those paid by a credit card have doubled to 15 percent.
• Credit card issuers outpace other biller categories with 46 percent of credit card bills paid online; this is compared to an overall average of 36 percent of bills paid online across all biller categories.
• Nearly three quarters (72%) of online bill payments are made on a billers’ websites, growing 18 percent since 2010.
• Only 32 percent of bills are set up on a recurring basis and the remaining 68 percent are made as one-time payments.

Generational Differences

• Seniors pay fewer online bills and pay more bills via the mail, at 40 percent. Bills paid via mail declines with each younger generation—down to 15 percent for millennials, while online bills as a percentage of total bills increases with younger generations: millennials at 61 percent, Gen Xers at 60 percent, baby boomers at 52 percent and seniors at 42 percent.
• Seniors pay a larger percentage of bills using checks than younger generations: 31 percent of seniors pay by checks versus 23 percent for baby boomers, 15 percent for Gen Xers and only 8 percent for millennials.
• Millennials and Gen Xers pay more of their bills using debit cards than older consumers: 22 percent and 16 percent respectively, versus 11 percent for baby boomers and 5 percent for seniors.
• 78 percent of online bills paid by millennials are made at the billers’ websites, versus 60 percent for seniors, whereas banks’ websites represent only 22 percent of millennials’ online payments versus 39 percent for seniors.

To receive a complimentary copy of the report, please click here or visit https://www.aciworldwide.com/billpayhabits