Articles
Striata and Western Union bring new payment option to insurance billers
[New York / Lake Buena Vista, FL – April 2007] Email Bill Presentment and Payment Gives Consumers a Faster Method of Paying Bills.
The Western Union Company and Striata, a provider of integrated electronic payment and bill presentment solutions, have formed an alliance to offer a new method for insurance companies to collect payments from their customers. For the first time ever, consumers can make insurance payments directly through email, eliminating steps previously used when paying a bill online and reducing the time consumers spend paying their bills.
Using a convenient process that typically takes less than two minutes, consumers receive their bill via securely encrypted email and can make a payment directly from within the emailed bill, without having to separately register and log in to a website. The insurance company receives confirmation that the bill was delivered to the consumer and is informed when the bill is opened and when the payment is submitted. The email is encrypted and consumers are asked to enter a ‘shared secret’ before they are able to open and view their bill.
This unique solution gives billers an alternative to current online bill-pay methods and significantly reduces costs associated printing and posting monthly, quarterly and annual paper bills as well as policy lapses. Other benefits of this email-based service include higher adoption rates, improvements in the management of payments and the assurance that the bills are being delivered to consumers’ inboxes instead of being lost in spam filters.
“We have received many requests from billers, particularly those in the insurance industry, to offer an eBilling option that is quick and convenient for consumers and easy to implement,” said Royal Cole, Executive Vice President, Western Union Payment Services. “Teaming with Striata allows Western Union to offer insurance companies instant email bill presentment and payment with significant cost savings to billers, while providing consumers with greater choice and convenience when paying their bills.”
“By providing billers with technology to improve efficiencies, while enhancing customer convenience and service, Striata has been established as a leader in innovation in the electronic billing industry since 1999,” said Garin Toren, Chief Operating Officer, Striata. “Working with Western Union, Striata can continue to offer billers an instant ROI by reducing billing costs by up to 80 percent, greatly improving customer service, and providing a dynamic, personalized and flexible marketing channel.”
How it works:
- Using Striata’s proven email gathering methodology, billers request the consumer’s email information at every customer touch point such as signing up for new service, change of address, a call into customer service or through the biller’s website.
- All new email addresses receive a welcome email explaining the security, convenience and environmental benefits of email billing, as well as when they can expect their first email bill.
- In the next billing cycle, the biller delivers a replica of the consumer’s current paper bill to the consumer via a securely encrypted email.
- To ensure their security, consumers are required to answer a predetermined security question. Entering this information opens the bill on the customer’s local computer (without visiting a website).
- In the payment section of the email, the consumer completes the payment fields. (This is only required the first time.) With one click of the payment button, the information is sent directly to a secure server.
- The entire process of viewing and paying the eBill usually takes the consumer less than two minutes. Payment is confirmed via an instant screen as well as an email.
- Once the biller has confirmation that the consumer is opening and using the email bill, the biller has two options:
- Opt-in: Ask the consumer if the paper bill can be turned off.
- Opt-out: Turn off the paper bill automatically after a certain period of time and give the consumer the option to turn it back on if they desire to do so.
Benefits to businesses and consumers:
| Businesses: | | Customers: |
| Cut paper costs (60% to 90%) | | Customer does not have to do anything |
| Reduce document delivery time | | The entire bill is delivered directly into the inbox |
| Enhance customer ‘visibility’ | | No website to visit, no username / password to remember |
| Reduce DSO (payment cycle) | | Takes just one click to open and view the content |
| Automate customer data capture | | Information in the encrypted email is: |
| Improve customer security and convenience | | 100% personalized |
| Drive cross-sell and marketing revenues | | Viewable offline |
| Improve feedback and overall customer satisfaction | | More secure than paper or online |
About Western Union
Western Union, together with its affiliates Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, is a leading provider of global money transfer services, providing people with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send money around the world, pay bills and purchase money orders through a network of approximately 300,000 Agent locations in over 200 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
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