Forgotten Passwords: A Deterrent to Paperless Billing?

Moving customers to paperless communication has been a decades-long effort for businesses. Although more consumers opt out of paper every year, the adoption rate in many industries has been far below company expectations. In 2016 Forbes noted that only 12% to 15% of bills and statements were being delivered electronically. We've come a long way since then, but paperless conversion has been a gradual shift that has not delivered the expected cost savings. Why is that?

Consumers cite many reasons for avoiding digital document delivery. One of the most relevant yet often overlooked roadblocks is the chore of logging into multiple billing portals. The reluctance to deal with this inconvenience may deter customers from switching off paper.

Today, a steadfast core of consumers are sticking with paper delivery. For them, their postal mailbox is a consolidation point with practically zero access issues. The postal service delivers a consumer's paper bills and correspondence to a central location where all the customers have to do is open the box and remove the contents. Contrasted with a scenario where they must log into dozens of websites and remember usernames and passwords that change every few months, it's no contest in their view.

Multiple Logins: A Source of Frustration 

In a Pay Near Me study, 29% of adults said paying bills causes them stress and anxiety.  52% said that remembering login information is the primary source of bill-related unease. 

Consumers will select the path of least resistance when choosing how they access their bills and statements. On average, US consumers receive six to fourteen recurring bills every month. If they must enter website usernames and passwords to retrieve each of them, that's a lot to remember.

Frustration and inconvenience connected to login difficulties can lead to a negative user experience, causing customers to associate the hassle of logging in with the company's overall billing process. For many consumers, paper billing offers a more straightforward and familiar method of receiving and paying bills. They don’t see the current model of digital bill retrieval as an improvement.

Login memorization for multiple websites can be overwhelming and it involves more than just billing portals. Think of all the streaming services, online shopping portals, and social networks most people use, not to mention more passwords they need for work. Failing to keep track of it all can lead to frequent password resets or completely forgetting the login information. Two-factor authentication is meant to prevent fraud and unauthorized access, but it is also a friction point that detracts from the convenience of online document viewing.

Struggles to log into a billing portal can raise concerns about the security of online transactions. If customers encounter difficulties during the login process, such as failed login attempts or account lockouts, it may raise doubts about the safety and reliability of the billing portal. This can erode customers' trust in the company's online payment system and make customers hesitant to rely on digital bill viewing and payment methods.

The hassle of logging into multiple billing portals can play a part in customers' resistance to give up on paper communications. Frustration and inconvenience associated with login difficulties, the challenge of managing multiple login details, and concerns about online security can all contribute to customers choosing paper billing as a more convenient, familiar, and secure alternative.

Implications for Billers 

So, as a biller, what does this mean for you? Your customers may love your online portal and notification methods, but it's only one of many systems they must navigate every month. Though no fault of your own, difficulties faced by consumers while logging in at other sites can hinder your efforts to reduce paper usage. To attract and retain customers in the digital billing space, you must look for ways to simplify and streamline the customer login process for a wider audience. That means giving customers more choices.

The customers who have so far ignored your organization's attempts to coax them into a paperless relationship don't see the current paperless offering as an upgrade. They will not opt out of paper until you offer them something that matches the perceived advantages that paper communications provide.

Overcoming the Multiple Password Barrier

An alternative exists. Companies can offer an option to simplify consumer bill management and convince more customers to abandon paper communications. By allowing consumers to access and pay all their bills from one place, your company can reduce the stress of remembering dozens of login credentials. 

Cubby Paperless collects all a consumer's bills and correspondence generated by multiple entities in one place. Cubby requires only one login for consumers to see all their documents at once. Consumers can choose to pay their bills directly through a biller's existing payment platform, turning the laborious task of visiting multiple biller websites into a one-stop undertaking. 

A Streamlined Solution 

If the stress of remembering multiple login credentials dissuades some people from opting for paperless billing, companies must offer an alternative that overcomes consumer objections. A platform offering all the convenience and simplicity consumers associate with paper bills may be the element that finally changes some minds about paperless communications.

Studies conducted by Cubby Paperless tell us that consumers prefer the consolidated presentation model. 

We can help you offer your customers a user-friendly web platform designed to ease the stress of online document retrieval and payments. The platform combines bills and statements for consumers from various billers. Consumers need just one set of login information to view all their documents.

Giving your customers access to their documents via Cubby Paperless couldn't be simpler. The same PDF files you're already using to generate paper or electronic bills will generate the information necessary to make electronic documents available to your customers.

It's that easy! Speed up paperless conversion by giving your paper bill customers a bill presentment choice that meets their needs and finally convinces them they don't need paper statements from your company.