A new study predicts that the electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) market could increase from 1998’s $2.5bn to as much as $31.7bn in 2005. E-commerce document company Xenos Group commissioned the report from Killen & Associates of Palo Alto, California. The Killen study found that the electronic statement segment is one of the fastest-growing components of this market, increasing from $500m in 1998 to $8.2bn in 2005. Xenos’ interest is understandable, as Killen believes that in 2005, e-statement issuers such as banks will spend $3.3bn on software – $1.8bn on applications alone. And Xenos Group has a product – Documorph 2.0 – specifically engineered for this market.
That’s not to say Xenos will have the arena to itself. News.com predicts that online bill-paying services will be the next battlefield in the escalating war between Microsoft Corp and America Online Inc. Microsoft introduced bill paying last month on its MoneyCentral site, but only five billers signed up. News.com suggests that banks and other financial institutions may still be smarting over the Redmond software company’s 1997 threat to offer electronic banking services. Meanwhile AOL, which doesn’t have anything like the same lingering prejudices to overcome, may be negotiating a partnership with CheckFree Holdings Inc.
While the giants ponder their strategies, fast-moving start-ups have already darted into the space. Billserv.com Inc has signed a three-year agreement with National Computer Print (NCP), a print and mail vendor of bills that currently generates half a million of the sinister envelopes every day, while Santa Clara, California-based CyberBills has struck deals with Southern Network Services (SNS) Inc and CyberTel Communication Corp. SNS will offer a branded version of CyberBills’ Total Bill Management service through its regional portal, Alabama.com. Long distance carrier CyberTel intends to offer the service to its telephone customers.
