Comparing the "Consolidator" model to NextBill's "Direct" model
In a September 1999 report, Forrester Research, Inc. stated, " . . . the different presentment models being touted are confusing to billers." Should billers adopt the "Bill Consolidation" model touted as the "most convenient" method of electronic billing, or should they go with the "Biller-Direct" model being publicized as the most cost-effective and less complex alternative?

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the steps involved in each model of EBPP:

Consolidated Bill

Direct Bill

Sign on to the Internet by entering a password. Access e-mail box. Open and read an e-mail message announcing that a bill has been presented. Go to the bill consolidation site by clicking the enclosed hyperlink on the e-mail message. Enter the bill consolidation site by keying in a name and password. View the list of consolidated bills. Select and view the desired bill's detail. Click the payment hyperlink and approve payment; optionally enter a different effective date and amount. Repeat the process as often as necessary to pay bills presented electronically at the consolidation site on different days throughout the month.

Sign on to the Internet by entering a password. Access e-mail box. Select and view the e-mail bill including its detail. Click the payment hyperlink and approve payment; optionally enter a different effective date and amount. Repeat the process for each bill presented electronically.

Obviously paying one bill sent directly to a customer's e-mail box requires fewer steps than paying one bill at a consolidated site. However, vendors of the consolidator model will point out that it is more convenient to pay multiple bills when they are all consolidated at a single site. They will contend that once a customer is at a bill consolidation site they can easily click from one bill to the next. This point might be valid, although it is probably no more difficult to click from one direct e-mail bill to the next. But a more important factor to consider is that a typical consumer's bills are not due at the same time. Recurring monthly bills arrive at different times of the month. Mortgage payments usually are all due at the first of the month. But, what about the gas, electric, water, credit cards, car payment, telephone, cellular, home improvement, security system, and other bills? They arrive on different days throughout the month.

The Forrester report added that, "?most companies agree customers will want bills consolidated and, as demand for EBPP grows, they will distribute bills wherever the customers choose." Perhaps, more customers will want their bills consolidated right in their e-mail boxes because they will:

1. Not have to sign up for an Internet service and remember yet another screen name and password.
2. Receive their bills at their most frequently visited "Web site," their e-mail boxes.
3. Not have to change their bill paying behavior because they can choose to view and pay bills whenever they want or it is convenient-maybe using their Palm? connected organizers while riding the commuter train. One click to view the bill including its detail and another to set the payment and effective date.