Allied Payment Network, a provider of online bill payment services to the financial industry, has announced that City Bank Texas, a Lubbock, Texas-based FI with $2 billion in assets, has launched the Picture Pay mobile bill payment solution.

Allied Picture Pay is the first mobile point, shoot and pay application for smartphones, the company said. The service is an added functionality to City Bank's existing mobile banking app. More than 40 percent of City Bank customers who use its traditional online banking product have also adopted the mobile app. This ratio beats the industry average, according to Allied. 

Picture Pay will allow City Bank customers to pay a bill simply and securely, just by taking a picture of the bill with their mobile device. Once the photo is snapped, the customer enters the payment amount and date — and the bill is paid. Picture Pay technology reads the data from the bill and its built-in analytics confirm the biller. The Allied payment network automatically executes payment .

Picture Pay also streamlines the payment process by identifying and automating payee setup, which is especially useful for non-recurring payments, the company said. The service also gives City Bank customers the option to expedite payments for a small convenience fee, eliminating more expensive late fees for customers and generating additional fee revenue for the bank.

"[W]e felt like a traditional bill pay feature for smartphones could prove cumbersome, with limited adoption," said Jim Simpson, chief technology officer for City Bank. "We needed a bill pay solution that embraced the mobile platform to ensure our user experience met our customers' evolving needs. By implementing Picture Pay, we're able to achieve that goal with a unique offering that will set City Bank apart from other financial institutions in our competitive market."

"The biggest challenge with bill pay adoption is the hassle of entering payee and account information," said Ralph Marcuccilli, president of Allied Payment Network. "Picture Pay is poised to solve this challenge and allow institutions like City Bank to cost-effectively compete with regional and national banks."

Read more about mobile bill payment.