Editor's note: This article appeared in the March 14, 2011, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.
Online banking continues to grow in popularity as 79 percent of consumers visit their bank's Web site daily or weekly, according to Chicago research company Mintel. But it seems that loyalty to online banking would vanish if the service wasn't complimentary, as just under 80 percent of consumers would stop using their bank's online bill-pay services if their financial institutions charged a monthly fee.
When asked how much they would be willing to pay, only 7 percent of consumers said that they would continue using online bill-pay if they were charged $5. The number willing to pay $10 for online bill-pay services is a mere 5 percent, while only 2 percent said they would pay $25 or more per month. The final 7 percent said they didn't know at what price they would stop using online bill-pay services.
"Most consumers would be loath to pay for an online bill-pay service, simply because there are other services that are offered free of charge," says Susan Wolfe, vice president, financial services, at Mintel Comperemedia. "So if banks start charging for online bill-pay, they run the risk that customers will use another payment mechanism or go to one of the free third-party services."
Despite the popularity of online banking, writing checks is still a popular way to pay: 62 percent of consumers who are responsible for paying their household's recurring bills report that they've paid a bill with a check. Forty-five percent have paid their bills through the biller's Web site and 42 percent have paid a bill with a credit card in the past six months. Online bill payment through a bank comes in fourth at 40 percent.