New research from Fiserv indicates there are "significant short-term and long-term shifts in the way consumers pay their bills. The 2011 Billing Household Survey showed that consumers use multiple payment channels on an ongoing basis, with nearly one out of every five online consumer households changing the way they pay bills each month. Mobile bill payments are on the rise, with more than six million Americans using smartphones to pay their bills in the past year. Interest in electronic bills (e-bills) has also hit an all-time high."

Pageonce has announced a mobile bill pay service that gives consumers remote control over when and how they pay their bills.

The award-winning Pageonce Money & Bills already lets users automatically track all types of bills -- from rent and mortgage, utilities, and cell phone to credit cards -- and alerts them when a bill is due. Now Pageonce gives users the option to pay immediately from their choice of accounts with a few taps on their smartphone. Pageonce makes paper bills, checks and stamps, and logging into several different websites for online bill pay, obsolete -- helping users save time and avoid annoying late and overdraft fees.

On the web:

• A Woman, A Cupcake, A Bank And A Square: Why Card Companies Are Scared Of Change - TechCrunch
• Apple's iPad Already Replacing Cash Registers by the Bushel - AllThingsD

On the wires:

• Bill.com Launches Printed Invoice Mailing Service, Adds QR Codes
• WePay Enhances Easy-To-Use API for Developers and Merchants

iMingle Insurance has announced a new instant bill pay process that utilizes QR codes embedded in billing statements and the ever-popular mobile phone.

When iMingle customers receive a bill, they can just open it, scan it, pay it and shred it. The process is completely hassle-free, with no need to get to a computer, remember any usernames and passwords or search for credit card information. Select billing emails also include a direct link to a customer’s payment site, with no login required.

On the wires:

• Striata and Payments Gateway Partner to Securely Deliver Property Tax Bills Electronically
• USA Technologies Transaction Processing Volume Growth Continues

On the web:

• Mobile Money to Deliver on the Promise | Merchant Account Industry & Credit Card Processing Blog
• Credit Slips: How Credit Card Companies Get Around the Card Act

On the wires:

• CHARGE Anywhere Turns Google Nexus Phone into NFC Payment Acceptance Terminal
• hyperWALLET Announces Support for SEPA Credit Transfers across Europe
• Litle Vault PayPage Removes All Merchant Exposure To Card Data During Online Acceptance
• Accertify is Selected by Abercrombie & Fitch for Online Fraud Prevention
• Nine Credit Unions Select Fiserv for Account Processing
• Fifth Third Processing and Planet Payment to Launch 'Pay in Your Currency' on ATMs
• Heartland Delivers Wait Management and SMS Marketing Solution to Restaurants with Freshtxt

On the web:

• Springwise: Snap a Photo of a Bill, Then Click to Pay
• Mobile Commerce Daily: PayPal Mobile Payments Growth
• Mashable: Starbucks Card Mobile Is a Hit: 3 Million People Pay Via Phone App
• New York Times: As Phones Become Wallets, Many Have Hands Out

On the wires:

• Columbus Water Works Enhances Consumer Payment Choice with Secure Vault Payments
• Bill.com Receivables Officially Launches
• Prepaid Card Processor i2c Expands International Presence
• Visa Completes Acquisition of PlaySpan

On the web:

• Wall Street Journal: Checking Will Stay Free, Says PNC Bank
• Digital Transactions: Cumbersome Paperwork Rule Will Go Away in April for Visa Fraud Chargebacks
• Inside Mobile Apps: A Google In-App Payments Solution for the Web Appears Slated For Launch in May

On the wires:

• CashStar Raises $5 Million for Digital Gifting and Incentives Innovation
• Faster Payments Highlight CheckFree RXP Update from Fiserv
• Adknowledge Unveils Mobile Monetization Solution for Apple App Developers
• Maritz Real-Time and ViVOtech Partner on NFC-Based Promotions and Loyalty Services
• First Data Selects Beanstream to Drive Its Payment Platform in Canada
• MetroBank and Accertify Announce Partnership to Fight Credit Card in Latin America
• DeviceFidelity Makes More Smartphones Available for Visa Mobile Contactless Payments
• HomeATM-AnywhereCommerce and CardinalCommerce Partner on Online PIN Debits
• NETBANX To Embedded Support for ParentMail +Pay School Payments System (UK)

On the web:

• All Things Digital: Square Wants to Replace Everything, From the Receipt to the Register
• Cleartrip Blog: How India's Banks Killed the Future of Commerce (with Strong Authentication)
• New York Times: Google's Schmidt Sees Payments as a Big Business

doxo has announced the availability of doxoPay, its new online bill payment feature. "doxo allows consumers to receive, manage, file – and now pay their bills – from multiple service providers such as credit cards, utilities, cable, mobile, insurance and mortgages — in one place at doxo.com."

MasterCard and Telefónica have announced a joint venture to development mobile financial solutions in 12 countries in Latin America where Telefónica is present with the Movistar® brand.

As part of this agreement, Movistar® mobile subscribers in Latin America will be able to use their mobile phones for person-to-person money transfers, bill payment, mobile airtime reload and retail purchases, among other services.

Sprint announced a partnership with doxo to offer its customers a "new, easy-to-use paperless billing solution". Sprint customers will be able to receive, manage and file all of their Sprint bills through doxo.

NetBanker had a nice post a couple of weeks ago on doxo might remake the eBilling.

Elavon has announced the release of its Enterprise Billing Solution (EBS) that delivers an efficient, end-to-end solution to businesses seeking a single source provider for both electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) and merchant card processing services.

Mitek has announced a new app that lets users pay bills with their smartphone camera.

After establishing online-bill-payment arrangements as part of their banking account, users of Mobile Photo Bill Pay can initiate e-bill-payment sessions on their smartphones, then simply snap photos of the bills they want to pay, verify the payment information and click on the app's "PAY" button.

BillFloat, a provider of small-dollar loans for bill payment, and Credit.com, a credit education company, and will announce a strategic partnership next week at Finovate 2010. BillFloat will be featured alongside Credit.com tools, consumer credit news, a selection of credit cards, credit scoring products, and credit product reviews.

"In contrast to payday lenders that have encountered resistance from regulators for high cost lending practices, BillFloat’s solution embraces the FDIC’s Small Dollar Loan Template. "

MoneyGram has announced an agreement with BillingTree to provide same-day, cash bill pay services at MoneyGram's approximately 35,000 agent locations nationwide under the brand name BillingTree PaynCash. BillingTree provides billers with a range of options for accepting payments such as ACH and credit card via online, IVR/VRU, and MOTO channels. The addition of MoneyGram's agent network rounds out BillingTree's suite of payment services, giving consumers another option when it is necessary to pay in cash or to make a last-minute payment.

Fiserv recently released the results of its 2010 Billing Household Survey, which offers a holistic view on consumer use of a broad range of billing and payment options.

The surveyed consumers reported increased usage of online, phone, and walk-in payment methods, and 23% said that they change the ways they pay their bills month-to-month. In addition, consumers indicated that making a payment or viewing a bill are the primaryreasons they visit the websites of companies from which they receive services. The survey also revealed that consumers who receive paperless bills are more satisfied with their service provider than those who receive mailed paper bills.

Bill.com has announced Bill.com Zen (Zero Data Entry) that eliminates the process of manually typing data into disparate banking or accounting systems and automatically maintaining important vendor information. Users simply fax, email, or upload bills into their Bill.com account and are notified by email when their bills are ready to review and pay, accuracy guaranteed. READ MORE »

Billeo has announced an expansion of its Biller Directory to help consumers pay their bills instantly with a credit, debit or prepaid card at more than 10,000 companies across 26 categories – from cable service providers to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Billeo says its directory is the largest of its kind and "the defacto standard in the U.S. and Canada." Billeo's Biller Directory now covers more than 15,000 companies with two-thirds accepting card-based bill payments. READ MORE »

MasterCard has announced a new bill pay service for MasterCard prepaid card issuers and program managers, and their cardholders. According to MasterCardh, "this new service leverages the capabilities of payment platform and services provider Aliaswire, combined with the industry-leading bill payment solutions of MasterCard RPPS, to offer MasterCard prepaid partners a feature-rich bill payment service that integrates easily with their prepaid card program, and enables MasterCard prepaid cardholders to conveniently pay bills online or via telephone." READ MORE »

Fiserv has announced the results of its most recent Consumer Billing and Payment Trends survey which has tracked online consumer bill payment habits since 2001. According to the company, "the 2010 survey shows online banking, bill payment and e-bill usage continues to grow, and that the online bill payment population has changed significantly during the last decade. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of households that use online banking increased more than six-fold (to 72.5 million), and the number that use online bill payment increased nearly eight-fold (to 36.4 million). Online bill payers now represent a wide cross-section of the U.S population, and women have edged out men as the primary users of the service." An overview of the 2010 Consumer Billing and Payment Trends survey results can be downloaded at http://www.fiserv.com/trends.htm. READ MORE »

Fiserv has announced a partnership with MoneyGram International to enable consumers to pay household bills through financial institution websites the same day they are due. The bills that will be available for same day payment represent those most common to U.S. households, including auto, mortgage, credit card, utility and mobile phone bills. READ MORE »

PreCash has announced Billocity, an expedited bill routing and delivery service that offers bill payment processors easier, faster and more profitable payment delivery. According to the company, "the service uses virtual card accounts to help processors add revenue and deliver a better value to consumers and billers." READ MORE »

FIS has announced its next generation bill payment solution for financial institutions. According to the company, "the new bill pay interface uses task-oriented, configurable modules that answer consumers’ hot button bill pay questions, all at the landing page. The solution features a product tour and setup assistant designed to ease “new user” apprehension and drive increased bill pay usage. “Click here” to take a fully interactive tour." READ MORE »

Fiserv has announced plans for a new personal payments service that it says "will enable individuals to quickly and easily send or receive money person-to-person using their existing online banking relationship. The service will be made available to the more than 3,100 financial institutions in the Fiserv online payment network, linking users with their friends, family, neighbors and colleagues." READ MORE »

FIS has announced that it is integrating PayPal's person-to-person (P2P) payment system into the FIS online bill payment application for financial institutions. FIS says that "by integrating paperless P2P functionality into its online bill payment application, FIS empowers banks and credit unions to simultaneously solve for a real consumer need and drive increased transaction activity at the online channel." READ MORE »

Fiserv has announced that Biller Direct HV, a hosted solution that integrates electronic billing and payment (EBP) capabilities into company websites, has been enhanced with new delivery and alerting capabilities. New capabilities include a "push e-bill" option that enables the delivery of secure PDF e-bills via e-mail and mobile alerts that notify consumers via their mobile device when a bill has been received. READ MORE »

Fiserv has announced that "Walmart has implemented the CheckFreePay service from Fiserv, enabling customers to pay bills in person at all Walmart locations in the United States. Using the CheckFreePay service, customers can pay household bills, such as their utility, mobile phone, auto loan, insurance and credit card bills, at any one of the retailer?s 3,755 domestic locations, including Walmart SuperCenters and Neighborhood Markets." READ MORE »

Wells Fargo has announced the nationwide availability of its newest online bill pay feature - allowing customers to make “just in time” online bill payments to merchants, such as utility, auto finance and mortgage companies. According to the bank, the new service helps customers avoid missing payments or making late payments. Wells Fargo has teamed up with Western Union to provide the new same-day service. READ MORE »

The number of US households paying bills online will grow from 48 million this year to 63 million by 2014, according to a new report titled "US Electronic Bill Payment And Presentment Forecast, 2009 To 2014" by Forrester Research. A 5.4 percent compound annual growth rate reflects a maturing market where growth rates will shrink in the years ahead, but it also reflects a market that is not yet saturated.

Forrester sees a shift in the online bill payment market as more consumers turn to banks and bill payment consolidators like Yodlee and Corillian because of several factors, including: the convenience of having multiple bills aggregated at a single Web site, the elimination of bill payment fees, and innovative marketing efforts to drive adoption. By 2012, consolidators’ share of the online bill payment market will surpass direct billing by merchants for the first time, according to Forrester. READ MORE »

Billeo and NetSpend have announced an online service designed to help consumers pay their bills using their NetSpend cards, giving them access to financial tools that the majority of Americans now enjoy. Under the terms of the agreement, consumers that have a NetSpend card will be able to access a searchable online directory of billers that accept the card. Billeo will also provide a free, downloadable toolbar to help cardholders manage their bills. READ MORE »