Banks vs. billers in online payments

The war rages. In one corner: Billers--the credit card companies and utilities that offer online mechanisms for customer payments. In 2009, 44 million U.S. households used online payment mechanisms provided directly by billers, according to the Online Banking Report, as noted by E-Commerce Times. That will grow by 26 percent to 56 million households by 2012.

In the other corner: Banks, which provide online services that allow customers to make payments in general. By 2012, the number of households using third-party channels will grow by 11 percent to 29 million. There would appear to be plenty of room for banks and third-party consolidators to poach a bit. And the reality is there's a lot of business to be had from people who are still more comfortable in the paper payment world.

The demographics favor the movement, but it remains to be seen who will win the customer. There is a lot of vendor activity underway. In the end, for banks anyway, this is a marketing and branding war as much as a technology war.

For more:
- here's the E-Commerce Times article

Related Articles:
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Launches CashPro® Online
The end of bank branches?
One way to goose mobile payments