For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: Qwest Connects With Customers Through eBills And ePayments

Biller Survey Shows Stronger Relationships Result From Viewing And Paying Online

by Emmett Higdon, November 3, 2009

Through an extensive billing and payment study of its residential customers, telecommunications provider Qwest Communications found that those customers who received their bills online and paid electronically had up to 25% less attrition and were up to . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

US Online Bill Payment Forecast: 2009 To 2014

Still Solving Old Problems, Banks Miss New Opportunities

by Emmett Higdon, October 19, 2009

Forrester predicts that online bill pay adoption will grow slowly but steadily over the next five years. That will raise the total number of US online bill payment households from 48 million to 66 million by 2014. Much of this growth depends on new Gen . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

iPhone Apps Fill Mobile Banking Gaps

Forgotten Functionality Holds Clues To What Banks Should Do Next

by Emmett Higdon, Alexander Hesse, September 15, 2009

Apple's iTunes App Store now offers more than 1,000 personal finance applications from banks and third-party developers for download. While today's iPhone apps from the largest banks add little value beyond what is already delivered through online banking . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

2009 Canadian Bank Secure Web Site Rankings

RBC Posts Solid Scores In All Areas Of Forrester's Review

by Emmett Higdon, August 25, 2009

Forrester again this year evaluated the secure Web sites of the seven largest Canadian banks and credit unions — Bank of Montreal, CIBC, Desjardins, National Bank of Canada, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank, and TD Canada Trust — using our Competitive Site . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

US Online Banking Forecast, 2009 To 2014

Slower Growth Overall Magnifies Gen Y's Impact

by Emmett Higdon, July 31, 2009

Between 2009 and 2014, the total number of US online banking households will increase from 54 million to 66 million. Most of this growth will be fueled by an influx of Gen Y (ages 18 to 29) households, whose numbers will finally match the hype usually . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How US Credit Card Customers Use And Rate Issuers' Secure Sites

Customers Do Little More Than View And Pay Their Bills Online

by Emmett Higdon, Peter Wannemacher, July 30, 2009

There are more than 175 million credit card owners in the US, 85% of whom go online at least monthly. Overall, 73% of cardholders have used at least one feature on their provider's Web site in the past year, with younger cardholders showing an even greater . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Time Has Come To Eliminate Paper Statements

US eStatement Adoption Has Leveled Off

by Emmett Higdon, Elizabeth Davis, July 17, 2009

What's the state of eStatement adoption in the US? It appears to have leveled out a bit, according to data from Forrester's North American Technographics® Online Banking Survey, Q1 2009 (US). An average of 55% of online checking, savings, and credit . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

2008 US Bank Secure Web Site Rankings

Forrester's Competitive Site Assessment Ranks Five Top US Banks

by Emmett Higdon, March 13, 2009

Forrester evaluated the secure Web sites of five of the largest US banks — Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia Bank, and Wells Fargo — using our Competitive Site Assessment (CSA) methodology. The Bank of America site led all others — earning . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Optimizing Online Banking Customer Contacts

A Checklist For Improving Self-Service During The Downturn

by Emmett Higdon, December 18, 2008

Given the continuing turmoil experienced by financial institutions, the last thing customers need from their bank is more uncertainty. Yet when posing a question online, many customers are often left guessing about how and when they will hear back from . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Canadians To Mobile Banking: We're Just Not That Into You

Few Canadians Are Interested In Mobile Banking; Fewer Still Use It

by Emmett Higdon, Peter Wannemacher, December 9, 2008

Half of Canadian online consumers are aware of mobile banking, but just 1% currently use the service, and only 3% more report any interest in doing so in the future. What's stopping online Canadians from adopting mobile banking as they have online banking? . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

US Banks Are Losing Bill Pay Ground To Biller Sites

Quitters And Fence-Sitters Prefer Billers Over Banks

by Emmett Higdon, November 3, 2008

Since Forrester first started tracking where US online consumers pay bills, biller sites have always led the way. Although banks had been closing this gap over the past five years, bank bill pay growth has stalled in the past 12 months, while the number . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Pulling The Plug On Paper Statements

North American Technographics

by Emmett Higdon, September 22, 2008

Adoption of eStatements in the US continues to grow strongly, as seen in data from Forrester's North American Technographics® Financial Services Online Survey, Q2 2008. More than 55% of online checking, savings, and credit card customers today receive . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Consumers Are Apathetic About Mobile Banking

A Lack Of Urgency And Availability Of Other Channels Holds Back Adoption

by Emmett Higdon, July 22, 2008

Despite their bank or credit union imploring them to "bank anytime, anywhere," online bankers and bill payers are uninterested in the mobile banking pitch. And while Gen X and Gen Y are slightly more receptive, the vast majority of online users are simply . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

High Touch Trumps High Tech When Switching Online Bill Payments

by Emmett Higdon, July 18, 2008

While US banks have successfully leveraged technology to simplify the account opening process, little progress has been made in using technology to help new customers easily move their online bill payment info over from their existing bank. The technology . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Connecting The Dots To Mobile Banking And Payments

Leverage Connections To Online Banking To Speed Up Transition To Mobile Services

by Emmett Higdon, April 7, 2008

While mobile payments promise to fundamentally change online financial and retail services, customers today simply do not see the need for the payment functionality that banks are developing. To help spur adoption of this new payment paradigm, banks and . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Building Better Transfers: Best Practices For Account-To-Account Transfers

by Emmett Higdon, March 21, 2008

The ability for online banking customers to quickly and easily move funds into and out of their accounts has dramatically altered how users manage their funds. The availability of account-to-account (A2A) transfers has also reshaped the account opening . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Online Bill Pay's Last Mile

Encouraging Activation And Avid Use

by Emmett Higdon, December 31, 2007

As annual growth rates for online bill pay slow, banks can no longer afford to focus solely on enrolling new users. They will realize the bottom-line benefit from their bill pay operations only when users are fully engaged in the service. To achieve this, . . .