>>>CKFR aligning with ORCL seems like the last step in the market consolidation process in e-pay. e-bill on the other hand seems to still be wild and wooly with several upstarts fighting to get a piece of that market including CYCH.
The BlueGill deal is like Orcale, both have a biller to customer billing server. ie...both these guys allow a biller to set up and present a bill, STEP #1. So if in the future, if this were the model of choice we would all end up going to each one of our individual billers sites each month to get our e-bills...like having 10 MAIL BOXES at the end of your drive, one for each biller.
And to add one more level of confusion which has never been talked about here before...what is the difference in service level in a Bill delivered by and Orcale Presentment or a BlueGill Presentment? ie not only 10 different MailBoxes, but 2 Postmen? What a potential mess that would be if you as the receipent of and e-bill started out will the 'rules' in an Ocral presentment, and then started receiving bills from BlueGill? Would the billers and your Bank be able track down an errored payment? Who's responsible for accuracy of the payment, CYBERCASH? They provide the one to one model payment software to initiate the payment, but does that license include customer support, or just the ability to PAY? I don't think CYBERCASH has that kind of MONEY needed to put together an end-to-end level of service to AUDIT the payment and respond to the enevitible customer service questions. So does that fall on who? THE BILLER? THE PAYMENT VENDOR? OR THE BANK...and if the Bank...WHICH ONE, the CUSTOMERS or the BILLER?
Which brings me to this conclusion...things could really get out of hand in short order under that model, if you can't provide end-to-end service...which is going to be required...can't expect billions of transactions to come off without one hitch. THEN THE 10 MAILBOX, 2 POSTMAN MODEL WILL NOT WORK. And there a more Mailmen out there, so this is a best case senerio, for a fatal flaw as I see it for 1 to 1 presentment. Except for the case that the consumer has only one Bill.
CHECKFREE allows generated e-bills to be routed to the, 'Post Office', where they are sorted...and then delivered to ONE e-MAILBOX for the Consumer. As each POSTMAN delivers an e-bill into this distribution net work the bill can be tracked, and serviced end-to-end. Like one of those delivery services...I think UPS? Where the customer can put the routing number in an follow the shipment of goods realtime. That's what CheckFree offers above all the rest.
They can take in a e-bill from any Mailman, "presentor", and "stamp it", like cancelling out a stamp on an envelope....kinda...but a little more, they, you, the biller, and the banks all can track both the bill and the payment once it's within CheckFrees' Network. That's the killer app. part of this presentment deal...everybody involved in the transaction knows what's going on with the transaction all the time.
One thing makes CheckFrees' system stand out from every other player, and it called; End-to-end Customer Care & S-E-R-V-I-C-E.
Getting the Bills presented is grunt work, but important work. And a lot of money will be made there. But ultimately what will make it all work is the ability to provide, cheap, fast, efficient, and a more cost effective service to the consumer & biller.
The CyberCash claim that the biller can provide this on a one to one level...thereby increasing the relationship is flawed fatally. Because of inconsisent levels of S-E-R-V-I-C-E the model would create...therefore you can't scale that model.
It was inter-changible parts, which lead to mass production, which fueled the Industrial Revolution. The One-To-One Model is a COTTAGE Industry in comparison to what type of Distribution Network CheckFree Provides.
Give them about 3 months to figure that out. The Network is the Computer/e-bill..... |
