A new study from Juniper Research has found that the global transaction value of digital bill payment and presentment will exceed $2 trillion by the end of 2021, from $1.9 trillion in 2020.
Digital bill payment and presentment are accessed and paid digitally, primarily through mobile banking apps.
Presentment in this context means a process that allows consumers to receive, view and pay certain bills online via computer, by transferring money from their checking accounts or charging bills to their credit card.
The report, titled Digital Banking: Banking-as-a-Service, Market Transformation & Forecasts 2021‑2026, said the steady growth represents the increasing maturity of the market, which is struggling for new user adoption.
The research predicts that, while digital bill payment is well established with traditional banks, digital-only banks will increasingly expand their presently limited offerings to mirror their capabilities, aiming to broaden their revenue streams.
“As such, digital billing services will need to prioritize partnerships with these digital-only banks, in order to access the best sources of future user growth,” the report suggested.
Smartphones to dominate usage
The new research found that smartphone-based digital bill payment and presentment will account for 51% of total digital bill payments in 2021, rising to almost 57% in 2026; displacing online management via browsers.
It identified the ubiquity of banking apps, with the new API opportunities unlocked via open banking being critical to expanding billing reach into a much broader market; widening this ecosystem significantly.
Research co-author Damla Sat explained: “Success in digital bill payment and presentment is about ensuring the right connections to billers are in place. The rise of APIs raises new possibilities for rapidly expanding this ecosystem; making partnerships critical at this early stage.”
US tops them all
The research found that the US will be the single largest digital bill payment and presentment market throughout the next five years; accounting for almost 35% of all digital bill payment transactions by value in 2021.
The study recommends that banks in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and elsewhere must partner with bill payment and presentment vendors with the most extensive third-party connections to billers to drive usage.
Ghana situation
In Ghana, as part of government Digital Ghana Agenda, banks, telecom service providers and FinTechs have established effect collaboration that provides bill payment solutions to state-owned utility services providers and several private organizations.
Even though the data on the level of usage of these channels are scattered, industry players have on several occasions reported a growing trend. As payments get even more digital, which the launch of Ghana.gov and GHQR, the trend is expected to even grow faster.
Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector; providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.
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