InvoiceCloud’s State of Online Payments Report: Digital Bill Payment Increases Across All Channels; Mobile Payments is Preferred Payment Channel

Rhea-AI Summary

InvoiceCloud, part of EngageSmart (NYSE: ESMT), released its annual State of Online Payments report, highlighting key trends in payment preferences. Notably, mobile payments have surpassed online portals, with 67% of respondents using mobile devices for bill payments. The report also noted a 5% increase in automatic payment enrollments, with 53% preferring Apple Pay. Common issues include difficulties in contacting customer service and concerns about payment security. The survey gathered over 2,100 responses in October 2022, demonstrating the importance of optimizing payment experiences in a competitive landscape.

Positive

• 67% of respondents prefer mobile payments over online portals.
• Automatic payment enrollment increased by 5% compared to previous years.
• 53% of users prefer Apple Pay as their digital wallet option.

Negative

• 29% of respondents reported difficulties in contacting customer service.
• 28% expressed concerns about the security of personal information.
• 23% indicated that payments take too long to process.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- InvoiceCloud, an EngageSmart (NYSE: ESMT) solution for online bill payment services, released its State of Online Payments report today, showcasing what we believe are vital insights into customer payment preferences, payment trends, and general behaviors around digital payments. We see this annual report as an important resource for enterprise businesses across sectors including financial services, utilities, and local governments that, just like consumer companies, are more dependent than ever on providing satisfactory payment experiences to meet revenue goals in increasingly uncertain times for collection departments.

According to our 2022 survey, mobile payment channels have overtaken online portals as the most used and the most preferred payment channel for the first time since we started issuing these annual reports. In the past year, 67% of respondents report making a bill payment via mobile device compared to 63% of respondents who say they made a bill payment through an online portal. We believe these results highlight the importance of optimizing the mobile experience to remain competitive and retain customers.

Key findings from InvoiceCloud’s State of Online Payments report include:

• Enrollment in automatic payments is 5% higher than in previous years
• 53% of respondents prefer using Apple Pay over other digital wallet options
• Common issues with digital bill payment heading into 2023 are contacting customer service (29%), less secure personal information (28%), payments taking too long to process (23%), and lack of payment reminders (21%)

“The payment experience is one of the most frequent and important opportunities for businesses of all sizes to build great relationships with their customers,” said EngageSmart President of Enterprise Solutions Kevin O’Brien. “This data emphasizes that the payment experience billing organizations provide must be on par with what customers already expect from e-commerce and mobile-first consumer brands.”

The State of Online Payments is based on a survey that resulted in over 2,100 qualified responses in October 2022 from respondents who paid at least one bill online in the prior 12 months. This annual InvoiceCloud survey allows InvoiceCloud to directly compare how certain payment habits have diverged or stayed consistent between this Report and our Reports in prior years.

For access to the full Report, click here.

About InvoiceCloud:

InvoiceCloud, an EngageSmart solution, is a leading provider of online bill payment services. Founded in 2009, the company has grown to be one of the leading disruptors in the cloud-based electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) space, helping institutions put customer experience first. By switching to InvoiceCloud, clients can improve customer engagement, loyalty, and efficiency while reducing churn and missed payments in the process. To learn more, visit www.InvoiceCloud.com.

About EngageSmart:

EngageSmart is a leading provider of vertically tailored customer engagement software and integrated payments solutions. At EngageSmart, our mission is to simplify customer and client engagement to allow our customers to focus resources on initiatives that improve their businesses and better serve their communities. EngageSmart offers single instance, multi-tenant, true Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) vertical solutions, including SimplePractice, InvoiceCloud, HealthPay24 and DonorDrive, that are designed to simplify our customers’ engagement with their clients by driving digital adoption and self-service. As of September 30, 2022, EngageSmart serves 94,500 customers in the SMB Solutions segment and 3,300 customers in the Enterprise Solutions segment across several core verticals: Health & Wellness, Government, Utilities, Financial Services, Healthcare and Giving. For more information, visit www.engagesmart.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements contained in this news release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, and are generally identified by words such as “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “future,” “could,” “should,” “plan,” “aim,” and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding anticipated financial performance and financial position, including our financial outlook for the full year 2022 and thereafter, and other statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including, but not limited to, the following: our inability to sustain our rapid growth; failure to manage our infrastructure to support our future growth; our risk management efforts not being effective to prevent fraudulent activities; inability to attract new customers or convert trial customers into paying customers; inability to introduce new features or services successfully or to enhance our solutions; declines in customer renewals or failure to convince customers to broaden their use of solutions; inability to achieve or sustain profitability; failure to adapt and respond effectively to rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards and regulations and changing business needs, requirements or preferences; real or perceived errors, failures or bugs in our solutions; intense competition; lack of success in establishing, growing or maintaining strategic partnerships; fluctuations in quarterly operating results; future acquisitions and investments diverting management’s attention and difficulties associated with integrating such acquired businesses; general economic conditions (including inflation and rising interest rates), both domestically and internationally, as well as economic conditions affecting industries in which our customers operate; the war in Ukraine; concentration of revenue in our InvoiceCloud and SimplePractice solutions; COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our employees, customers, partners, clients and other key stakeholders; legal and regulatory risks; and technology and intellectual property-related risks, among others.

Other important risk factors that could affect the outcome of the events set forth in these statements and that could affect the Company’s operating results and financial condition are discussed in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, and our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as updated by our future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Such statements are based on the Company’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to the Company. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this document except as required by law.

Disclosure

We disclose information to the public concerning EngageSmart, EngageSmart’s products and services, and other items through a variety of disclosure channels in order to achieve broad, non-exclusionary distribution of information to the public. Some of the information distributed through these disclosure channels may be considered material information. Investors and others are encouraged to review the information we make public in the locations below.* This list may be updated from time to time.

*For information concerning EngageSmart and its products and services, please visit: engagesmart.com

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221206005386/en/

Media:

Katie Jacobs

Quarter Horse PR

invoicecloud@qh-pr.com

Investor Relations:

Josh Schmidt

EngageSmart, Inc.

IR@engagesmart.com

Source: InvoiceCloud

FAQ

What are the key findings from EngageSmart's State of Online Payments report?

The report reveals that 67% of users prefer mobile payments, automatic payment enrollments increased by 5%, and 53% of respondents favor Apple Pay.

How has consumer behavior shifted in online payments according to the report?

Mobile payment channels have overtaken online portals as the most used payment method, indicating a significant shift in consumer preferences.

When was the survey for the State of Online Payments report conducted?

The survey was conducted in October 2022, collecting over 2,100 responses.

What challenges do customers face with digital bill payments?

Common issues include difficulty contacting customer service (29%), concerns over payment security (28%), and delays in processing payments (23%).

How can businesses improve customer payment experiences based on the report's findings?

Businesses should optimize their mobile payment experiences to meet growing customer expectations and enhance satisfaction.