Article

Retailers and billpay kiosks

A new report details how stores can profit from self-service bill-payment.

December 28, 2008

In trying to help customers who are averse to long lines or delinquent in paying bills, retailers are adding a variety of payment options.

Many consumers pay bills with credit cards by phone or over the Internet, but research shows that more than 40 million people in the U.S. are unbanked or prefer to pay bills with cash.

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An RVA Marketing, Research and Consulting survey showed a majority of customers are comfortable transacting with self-service kiosks, though many potential users still need to be better educated about them. The survey also said that when given a list of reasons for using a kiosk versus other payment methods, about 90 percent of respondents rated "convenient or time-saving way to pay," "I get immediate receipt of payment" and "fast notification of the biller" as important motivations.

Craig Nelson, director of risk management and loss prevention for Homeland Acquisition Corp., which owns 86 outlets, uses billpay kiosks because of limited staff in its locations.

"We would rather spend that labor taking care of more profitable transactions, such as check cashing and money transfer," Nelson said.

"Having personal, one-on-one service for billpay simply does not make sense when there is an alternative."

Jim Bennett, chief executive officer of U.S. Payments, said that 80 percent of the 176 PaySite billpay kiosks his company has deployed are in retail stores. The retailers have reported measurable labor and store cost savings, as well as an increase in traffic, he said. Approximately $25 in additional store revenue is related to every PaySite transaction, representing an additional $24,980 each month for a store that has 1,000 transactions.