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Articles by Alison Arthur
Bill payments: Helping small businesses think big
Small businesses are a driving force in the U.S. economy. They employ 61.7 million workers, which accounts for 46.4% of all US employees. This shows how heavily the small businesses drive the economy, however even with this, failure rates for small businesses can be high, and lack of cash flow is often a contributing factor.
Full coverage EBPP for auto insurance
Auto insurance premiums are among the most predictable bill payments in consumers’ lives. All but one state (New Hampshire) requires car owners to have auto insurance policies that help protect drivers, citizens, cars, and property from the damaging effects of auto accidents. Missed auto insurance payments can have serious consequences that go beyond losing the ability to drive the uninsured vehicle. Law enforcement can write tickets, issue fines, and even suspend car owners’ driver’s licenses.
3 reasons why you need to offer pay by text—now - CUInsight
A key element in accelerating receivables is to make it as easy and convenient as possible for customers, members, or policyholders to pay their bills. Electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) solutions like e-bills and online bill pay is a great start. However, with the prevalence of smartphones, it makes a lot of sense to engage with customers on handheld devices. SMS payments, or pay by text, is one of the easiest and safest ways to pay bills.
A crash course in faster payments
The popularity of faster payments in the U.S. is growing at an accelerated pace. Not only are customers expecting their goods and services on-demand, but they’re also relying on digital, social distancing-friendly solutions to do so. With the use of cash being discouraged, people are looking for alternatives that offer the same speed and finality of payment. Faster payment offerings fill that need.
4 ways chatbots are revolutionizing electronic bill payments
Chatbots are transforming how we interact with businesses every day. Consumers can ask questions, receive suggestions, place orders, and make payments with the help of chatbots designed to streamline the customer journey. The technology also provides the benefit of analyzing past behavior to help predict future actions. This data mining allows chatbots to “learn” from historic behavior and apply this knowledge to curate more personalized experiences going forward.
What are payment rails?
For consumers, payments can be as easy as the dip of a credit card or the touch of a “Pay Now” button. The ease of these transactions belies the complex architecture that makes modern payments so fast and effortless. When a payment is initiated online or at the point of sale, an intricate flow of information and instructions is passed between entities.
3 applications of machine learning in financial services
Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence that allows computers to “learn” from data without explicit programming from humans. In financial services, it can transform business processes related to customer service, personal finance, and fraud and risk management. Here are some real-life applications of machine learning in each of these areas.
Back to basics: ACH for bill payments
Electronic bill payments are only possible because of the payment methods that make digital fund transfers possible. The “big three” funding methods of electronic bill presentment and payments (EBPP) include credit cards, debit cards, and ACH transactions. While there are benefits associated with each of these payment methods, ACH dominates the transactions processed via Alacriti’s Orbipay® EBPP.
Ditching paper checks for digital disbursements: 5 use cases
Paper checks still show up regularly in people’s mailboxes. They’re a go-to not only for personal debts but also for businesses that need to pay their employees, vendors, and customers. Mobile banking apps have streamlined the check cashing process, allowing customers to deposit checks with the snap of a smartphone camera. But many people are still willing to sign their checks, physically visit a branch location or ATM, and deposit them in person.
Busting 5 common EBPP myths
Electronic bill presentment and payments (EBPP) is a wide-reaching discipline that encompasses everything from mobile-enabled bill payments to funding methods like debit cards, credit cards, and ACH. With so many moving parts, it’s easy for myths to develop about the basics of EBPP. Here we’ll bust five common EBPP myths to help create a better understanding of how it all works.
What are digital disbursements?
The relationships that consumers have with retailers and service providers are increasingly digital, from how they communicate to how customers pay these businesses. But funds don’t strictly flow in one direction from consumers to businesses. There are times when businesses must issue payouts to their customers for reasons including rebates, refunds, account overpayments, and claims payouts. The B2C payout process is largely built around issuing paper checks to recipients.
Bill payments: Helping small businesses think big
Small businesses are a driving force in the U.S. economy. They employ 47.1% of private workers and, despite the pandemic, created 1.6 million new jobs in 2020. But failure rates for small businesses can be high, and lack of cash flow is often a contributing factor. For small businesses that rely on a steady stream of income from bill payments, an electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) solution can be a powerful tool to help keep this revenue flowing.
Skip-a-pay for the holidays
The holidays are upon us and seasonal retail sales are expected to be strong. A recent forecast from the National Retail Federation predicts growth of 3.8 to 4.2 percent over 2018 holiday retail sales. This is also the time of year when consumers might need more flexibility when it comes to directing their dollars. For example, funds that are earmarked for loan payments might be useful to help make holiday-related purchases.
Wait, what’s a chatbot again?
Chatbots for credit unions: 5 terms to know Chatbots are a buzz-worthy topic for all organizations, including credit unions. Members can interact with chatbots in the digital channels they use regularly, like messaging apps and smart speakers, to receive personalized service and support. Chatbots can help fulfill common tasks like verifying account balances, paying bills, and transferring funds between accounts without having to speak with a member service representative.
Four ways to encourage electronic bill payments
By Alison Arthur Are your utility customers hanging on to inefficient ways of paying their bills, like making in-person counter payments or mailing paper checks? Old habits die hard, but there are ways of encouraging these customers to adopt digital bill payments. According to the most recent Survey of Consumer Payment Choice published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, approximately 60 percent of consumer bills are paid online.
The Dos and Don’ts of Digital Healthcare Payments
Mar 19 2019 The Dos and Don’ts of Digital Healthcare Payments By Alison Arthur, product and content marketing manager, Alacriti. The financial well-being of healthcare organizations depends on steady, predictable revenue from their patients. However, healthcare payments are often impacted by a number of financial factors including insurance, co-payments, deductibles, and co-insurance.
Five Simple Ways to Reduce Customer Service Costs
Five Simple Ways to Reduce Customer Service Costs Billing and payments are among the most frequent touch points that water and wastewater utility providers have with their customers. Although utilities primarily use their billing communications to convey timely account information, such as payment due dates and balance amounts, they can also use these bills to deliver relevant news to their communities. Billing and payments are also two areas where customer questions can arise most often.
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