Monday February 8, 9:01 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Paymentech, Inc.
Wireless and Telecom Companies Increase Automation of Customer Billing With Recurring Payments
PageNet, Western Wireless, AccessLine Choose Paymentech for Credit Cards and Electronic Check Processing
DALLAS, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Paymentech (NYSE: PTI - news), the nation's third largest credit card processor, announced that PageNet, Western Wireless (Nasdaq: WWCA - news) and AccessLine have selected Paymentech to process their automatic payment programs for recurring billing.
The recurring billing, or recurring payment, electronic solution enables these wireless and enhanced communication service providers to automatically receive payments from customers that are billed on a monthly or regularly scheduled basis. The announcement was made at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association's Wireless '99 convention and exposition in New Orleans.
With recurring payment, a subscriber selects a credit card, debit card or checking account to automatically cover the service bill. Wireless and telecommunication service providers then electronically collect receivables. The resulting benefits include improved cash flow, faster credit to providers' accounts, and streamlined operations. Paymentech, the largest processor for card-not-present payments, expanded into the services industry to capitalize on the growing consumer payment preference.
''Recurring payments produce cost savings for cellular providers and improve customer service and retention,'' said Gary Beck, senior
director for Paymentech's recurring payments program. ''In a billing survey, 82% of the respondents cited customer service enhancements as
the greatest reason for upgrading to recurring payments.''
MasterCard research shows that 34% of surveyed consumers would favor paying bills by recurring payment. Barry Duncan, vice president and controller for PageNet, headquartered in Dallas, said, ''Our customers find recurring payment convenient and easy. There are no checks to write, stamps to buy or statements to return. The benefit to our customers complements the advantages to PageNet, which includes faster payment.''
''Western Wireless selected Paymentech because they were one of the few processors who could work with us in developing a customized system that processes credit cards and electronic checks in one solution,'' said Meagan O'Leary, account manager at the Bellevue, WA-based wireless communications company.
According to E. William Savage, vice president for business development and treasurer for AccessLine, automatic credit card payment is part of a seamless customer billing, collection, provisioning and service flow. The company, headquartered in Seattle, is dedicated to delivering highly sophisticated, advanced telecommunication products and services that make its customers' lives easier.
''Our nominal monthly fees and charges did not warrant paper-based billing,'' said Savage. ''Paymentech has developed expertise in
customizing credit card processing for telephony billing environments. An understanding of the enhanced communications business allows
them to implement programs faster and enables us to enroll subscribers instantaneously.''
As an electronic payment solutions provider, Paymentech arranges for customer payments to be handled according to their preference.
Subscribers receive a simple notice with activity detail. Paymentech interfaces with company billing systems to extract a file of non-check
payments that the processor submits for authorization and settlement. Paymentech also provides electronic check processing, which automatically debits a customer's bank account for payment.
Overall, recurring billing reduces the payment cycle time, assures quicker access to funds and eliminates delays associated with check
payments. Lock box fees, collection agency fees and insufficient fund bank charges are also reduced.
Paymentech, Inc., founded in 1985, provides full-service electronic payment solutions in merchant acquiring, third-party transaction
processing and commercial card payment and information programs. The company processed approximately 2.2 billion total transactions and
approximately $54 billion in sales volume during calendar 1998. Paymentech is the third largest processor of bankcard transactions and a leading issuer of commercial cards in the United States.
Paymentech Recurring Payments Fact Sheet
Recurring payments (RPs) account for over $500 billion in annual payments. Less than 2% is currently captured on cards. Approximately 5% of payments are made through direct debits of consumer checking accounts (Nilson Report, August 1996).
According to a MasterCard survey, 93% of all recurring bills are paid by writing a check; however, 36% of consumers currently use some
type of recurring payment for at least one bill. Automatic payment type preferences were --
-- automatic checking account debit (electronic check processing) -- automatic paycheck deduction -- credit card recurring
Consumer Research
-- 34% of consumers (not currently using) would prefer a recurring
payment
-- About one in four consumers (24%) mentioned they would switch to a
competitor, where the option exists, if they could do automatic
recurring payments.
Benefits of RPs
Merchants (service industry providers):
-- secure transactions
-- streamlined processing
-- improved collections
-- improved customer service and retention
-- incremental sales
Consumers:
-- convenience, saves time and money
-- option to revolve
-- earn points in co-branded and frequency award programs
SOURCE: Paymentech, Inc.
biz.yahoo.com |
