The Internet has presented us with many options for managing our
lives and finances. Online bill paying has become a convenient way for
people to pay their bills while conserving the environment. The purpose of
this discussion is to examine how online bill paying helps the world's
attempt to conserve. Our discussion will focus on how online bill paying
conserves the use of paper products. In addition, we will discuss the
challenges that online bill paying presents. Let's begin by defining
According to an article in the journal, Economic Perspective, the
"no longer uses the mail system as a delivery mechanism for bill
presentment and payment initiation. Instead, it uses the Internet as a
speedier and less expensive delivery infrastructure to present bills
electronically. (6) With the percentage of U.S. households with
Internet access having increased from 26.2 percent to 41.5 percent
between December 1998 and August 2000 (U.S. Department of Commerce,
2000), Internet access to bill presentment and payment options is on
In other words, online bill pay allows consumers to view their bills
and pay them online. The consumer can pay bills using a checking account
or a credit card. They can also make inquiries concerning their accounts
Many large banks have embraced online bill paying as a part of their
overall business strategy. Among the leaders in Online bill pay is Bank of
America. The ABA Banking Journal reports that,
"Bank of America--which made its EBPP free last year and phased in
other technical alterations to simplify the user interface--lured some
200 odd billers on board and believes, overall, that sufficient
progress is being made. In fact, BofA has experienced a 112% growth in
bill pay service use since last year, notes Stephanie Smith, seni...