The survey, a follow-up to a study announced in 2004 that first introduced Americans to six segments of bill-payer personalities, found that consumers today are more trusting of the Internet, particularly when it comes to financial management, and that there has been a significant, positive shift in several of the bill payment behavioral categories. The survey was conducted by Lieberman Research Worldwide, a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in consumer segmentation research.
Online is Safer than Paper: Facts Quell Initial Fears
Thanks to a greater awareness of identity theft and prevention measures, the 2006 survey revealed that Americans are less concerned about online security today than in 2004, and trust electronic billing and payment systems. Specifically:
* The number of respondents that indicated they do not trust the Internet with the security of their financial information declined by 60 percent: from 20 percent in 2004 to just eight percent in 2006. * Thirty-seven percent of 2006 respondents indicated they agreed that paying bills online is safer than paying them by mailing a paper check, as opposed to just 24 percent in 2004. This is an increase of more than 50 percent.
"When Javelin first started reporting the security benefits of online transactions in 2005, many people saw it as counter-intuitive. However, it has been shown that 90 percent of known-cause identity fraud happens through offline channels," said James Van Dyke, founder and principal analyst, Javelin Strategy & Research. "It's rewarding to see that consumers now understand that using an electronic billing and payment program is not only safe, but is one of the best things they can do to help protect themselves from identity fraud."
Consumers' growing trust in the Internet has contributed to a significant increase in electronic billing and payment adoption. Since 2004, the number of consumers using CheckFree's electronic billing and payment services has increased by 32 percent annually.
Maximizers Increase, While Paranoid Paper Pushers Shrink
Since the last CheckFree-Lieberman survey in 2004, there have been substantive shifts in the size of the personality segments. The most notable changes occurred among Maximizers and Paranoid Paper Pushers, which could be considered opposite sides of the same coin among the six bill payment segments.
* Maximizers, the strategic, money-minded and financially organized group that embraces paying bills online, grew by more than 85 percent since 2004. This segment, which is 57 percent male, is one of the mostly likely groups to adopt an electronic billing and payment program, and includes those consumers expected to be early adopters of paperless bills. Maximizers were the largest of the bill-paying segments, with 25 percent of survey respondents in this category. * Paranoid Paper Pushers, careful planners who prefer familiar, paper- based financial management historically expressed fear of the Internet. They have been the least likely group to pay bills online. Since 2004, paper pushers decreased by 58 percent, dropping from an estimated 22 percent of online consumers in the U.S. in 2004 to 9 percent in 2006, making them the smallest of the six consumer segments studied.
Why the dramatic shifts? Researchers from Lieberman and CheckFree cite a reported 40 percent increase in the adoption of broadband Internet connectivity, which facilitates faster online financial activities. Additionally, more people are spending more time online -- 88 percent of the online population reports spending more than five hours per week online, with those who spend less than five hours online decreasing 54 percent since 2004. With heavier Internet use and online tenure comes more experience and, subsequently, greater confidence in both the Internet and security of its applications and services.
"The survey demonstrates that receiving and paying bills online is no longer the wave of the future, but has moved into the mainstream as the safe, convenient way for consumers to manage their finances," says Matt Lewis, executive vice president and general manager of CheckFree's Electronic Commerce Division. "The shift in segment sizes of the Maximizer and Paranoid Paper Pusher groups revealed in this survey is impressive. The group that is the least likely to enroll in an online billing and payment service -- Paranoid Paper Pushers -- declined drastically. Combine this study data with the results of a separate survey announced in May 2006, which revealed that 69 percent of consumers have paid at least one bill online, and online bill payment is almost even with paper checks for bill payment."
The Bill-Paying Segments Defined
The Lieberman survey of more than 1,200 online consumers, sponsored by CheckFree, is representative of the approximately 77 million online consumer households in the United States (EBPP Forecast 2005 to 2010, Forrester, October 2005). The 2006 CheckFree-Lieberman survey has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
Participants in the CheckFree-Lieberman study either have primary responsibility for paying their household bills or share that responsibility. The attitudinal survey found that most Americans fit into one of the following six bill payment categories:
* e-Savvy Planners enjoy trying the latest technology products and services and are willing to spend money on tools that make managing their finances easier. They tend to be organized, are usually among the first to test-drive or own the latest gadgets, and are often asked for technology advice by friends and family. They appreciate the speed, control and ease-of-use that electronic billing and payment offers. Sixty-two percent of e-Savvy Planners pay at least one bill at their bank or credit union's website each month -- a 51 percent increase since the 2004 CheckFree-Lieberman survey. This group is the second-largest of the consumer financial segments, making up about 20 percent of the adult bill-paying population. * Maximizers - the largest (25 percent) of the six bill-paying segments -- manage their money strategically and actively seek rewards such as frequent flyer points. They value financial organization and consider paperless e-bills to be helpful tools for budgeting. They particularly appreciate how electronic billing and payment helps in scheduling payments, and that all their bills can be paid in one step. They also feel that the service is safer than paper. The survey found that 54 percent of Maximizers pay at least one bill online each month, a 38 percent increase since the last survey. * Convenience Seekers like being organized and are always on the lookout for tools that are "quick and easy" and help them improve organization. This third-largest group (18 percent of survey respondents) also likes paying all bills at a single website, such as their bank's online banking portal. Convenience Seekers enjoy the many benefits of electronic billing and payment, especially its speed of payment and improved controls over the timing and amount of payments. Forty-eight percent of Convenience Seekers reported paying at least one bill online, versus 25 percent in the last survey, a 92 percent increase in electronic billing and payment adoption. * Self-Improvers find financial management to be stressful and time consuming, but they are actively seeking to gain control of their finances. This segment -- approximately 13 percent of surveyed consumers -- often struggle to manage their budgets, sometimes forgetting to pay their bills or skipping payments in order to use the money for other things. They are in search of an organizational system that gives them increased control and makes managing finances easier, such as electronic billing and payment. This consumer segment tends to be slightly younger than most other segments, and includes more women (57 percent) than men (43 percent). Self-Improvers' adoption of electronic billing and payment increased more than any other consumer segment since the last survey. Forty-three percent reported paying at least one bill online, versus just 13 percent in the 2004 survey results, a 231 percent increase in electronic billing and payment adoption. * Desperate Avoiders are generally stressed about their finances and can be overwhelmed by their debts. This group -- approximately 15 percent of survey respondents -- typically find monthly bill payment to be a chore, have trouble keeping track of finances, and may avoid opening bills or delay paying them altogether. Like Self-Improvers, Desperate Avoiders tend to be younger, but are almost evenly split between men (51 percent) and women (49 percent). Despite their financial struggles, this group is also beginning to embrace paying bills online as a way to help gain control of their finances. Forty-four percent reported paying at least one bill online, versus just 17 percent in the previous survey, a 159 percent increase in electronic billing and payment adoption. * Paranoid Paper Pushers -- the smallest of the bill-paying groups studied -- are distrustful of the Internet in general and incorrectly believe they are safer receiving bills and sending checks by mail. They are very careful with their finances and may have developed a comprehensive manual financial management system that they have been using for years. This less tech-savvy group tends to be somewhat older than other segments. Just 22 percent of the Paranoid Paper Pushers reported paying a bill(s) online, but that was a 144 percent jump from the previous survey. This segment shrunk 22 percent to just 9 percent - one of the more dramatic shifts since the last survey. What's Your Type?
Certain of the Company's statements in this press release are not purely historical, and as such are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements regarding management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or projections of the future. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the various risks inherent in the Company's business, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2006 (filed September 8, 2006). One or more of these factors have affected, and could in the future affect the Company's business and financial results in future periods, and could cause actual results to differ materially from plans and projections. There can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements made in this press release will prove to be accurate, and issuance of such forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by the Company, or any other person, that the objectives and plans of the Company will be achieved. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are based on information presently available to management, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
CheckFree Corporation
