Online bill payments surpass cheques

According to a new study conducted by Harris Interactive and the Marketing Workshop, consumers in Internet-connected households are paying more of their bills online than by paper cheque, reports CRM Today.

"The fact that online bill payment has overtaken paper cheques shows that people feel secure managing their finances online," says Gwenn Bezard, research director with Aite Group.

The survey showed that online payments make up 39% of the total volume of bill payments among online households, an increase of 4%, while the volume of cheques sent through the mail fell by 4% and now only represents 34% of the overall volume.

BT is encouraging more than a million customers to switch to online billing by the end of the month in an effort to promote environmental consciousness, reports Pocket-Lint.

The company uses 60 tonnes of paper each year and aims to reduce the impact on the environment. BT's move to more digital dominated services represents an industry trend to move away from the need to produce paper documents.

"Many companies have started to conduct their customer communications via the Internet, including their billing, but the dramatic success of BT's e-billing scheme has been boosted by the support we've had from the Woodland Trust," said Gavin Patterson, MD of BT Retail's consumer division.

Adventure tour operator, Bales Worldwide, is on an e-marketing and direct mail drive to create personalised, targeted communications, reports U Talk Marketing.

Using marketing and communications software from Neolane, the aim of the campaign is to win customer loyalty and increased revenues. The tool is being launched in May and is expected to enable the company to run campaigns at any time.

Bales Worldwide marketing communications manager, Raymond Howe, said: "Neolane will enable us to run many thousands of mini-campaigns, tightly targeted to our customers' holiday preferences."