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Monthly Billing 101

First, let’s take a look at the number of consumers who pay bills within the utilities industry.

Percentage of consumers who pay each bill

Question: Please select all of the bills for which you personally have submitted monthly payments over the past 12 months.

Share of total bills per industry

Question: Please select all of the bills for which you personally have submitted monthly payments over the past 12 months.*

*Subscriptions and Higher Ed began to be measured in 2020.

Payment Channels

Now we’ll explore trends in the utilities industry for payment “channels,” or the different ways a payment can be delivered or received.

Majority channel used to make one-time payments

Question: Within the last 12 months, which of the following payment channels have you used to make a majority of your one-time payments for the following bills?*

*Virtual Voice Assistant began to be measured in 1H 2020, while Text Message began to be measured in 2H 2020.

Preferred channel for one-time payments among those who pay utilities bills

Question: What is your preferred channel for making one-time bill payments?*

*Virtual Voice Assistant began to be measured in 1H 2020, while Text Message began to be measured in 2H 2020.

Most recent channel used to set up recurring payments

Question: Which of the following channels did you most recently use to set up recurring payments for each of the following bills?

Preferred channel for setting up recurring payments among those who pay utilities bills

Question: What is/would be your preferred channel for setting up recurring bill payments?

Payment Methods

Here are the latest trends in the utilities industry for payment “methods,” or the forms of money or currency that can be used to pay bills.

Majority method used to make one-time payments

Question: Within the last 12 months, which of the following payment methods have you used to make a majority of your one-time payments for the following bills?

Preferred method for one-time payments among those who pay utilities bills

Question: What is your preferred method for making one-time bill payments?

Majority method used to make recurring payments

Question: Within the last 12 months, which of the following payment methods have you used to make a majority of your recurring payments for the following bills?

Preferred method for recurring payments among those who pay utilities bills

Question: What is your preferred method for making recurring bill payments?

Billing Statements and Notifications

And finally, we’ll explore trends in the utilities industry for how consumers prefer to receive their billing statements and notifications when a bill is due.

Share of total billing statements

Question: How do you currently receive your billing statements for the following bills?

Preferred billing statements among those who pay utilities bills

Question: How do you prefer to receive your billing statements?

Preferred billing notification method among those who pay utilities bills

Question: In general, which of the following do you prefer most when it comes to receiving your bill notifications / reminders?

Source: ACI Worldwide, ACI Speedpay Pulse, 2024
https://pulsereport.aciworldwide.com

ACI Speedpay Pulse Methodology

The ACI Speedpay Pulse is a longitudinal consumer billing and payment trends research study conducted by Brownstein Group in partnership with ACI Worldwide.

Each ACI Speedpay Pulse data set includes responses from a survey of at least 3,000 unique respondents (no repeat participation within a one-year period). Each survey sample is U.S. Census-balanced among adults age 18 and older who are responsible for submitting payments for at least two of their household’s monthly bills. Survey margin of error is less than 1.8 percent for questions answered by the entire sample. Questions with a smaller base will have a higher margin of error. If presented, stat testing is at the 95 percent confidence level.

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Data Guide

You can utilize the filter options available in each chart to view the consumer survey data in a variety of ways. Many charts will provide side-by-side comparison tools so that you can compare one set of data on the left with another set of data on the right. While the filters may vary by chart depending on the data available, here are the different filters you may be able to apply:

  • Age Group: View the data specific to four key generations of respondents aged between 18 and 80. The data accounts for the specific age ranges of each generation as they vary across each Time Period.
    • Gen Z – Respondents aged 18-26 in 2023 (dating back to consumers aged 18-21 in 2018). This age range only reflects a partial segment of Gen Z-aged consumers.
    • Millennials – Respondents aged 27-42 in 2023 (dating back to 22-37 in 2018).
    • Gen X – Respondents aged 43-58 in 2023 (dating back to 38-53 in 2018).
    • Boomers + - Respondents aged 59+ in 2023 (dating back to 54-80 in 2018). This age range reflects the full Baby Boomer generation and a smaller portion of the Silent Generation.
  • Time Period: View the data specific to different timeframes when the data is available.
    • 1H = first half of the year
    • 2H = second half of the year
  • Industry: View data on consumers who have indicated they pay at least one bill relevant to the industry selected. For example, if you select "Utilities," you will see data related to consumers that have paid a bill in this category for the selected time period.