Financial services technology provider Fiserv Inc. has released new data from surveys on the state of bill paying. Not surprisingly, mobile has become an important channel for both billers and their customers.

Fiserv's own product data showed that the number of mobile bill payment transactions processed through its biller tools tripled within the past 24 months. The number of mobile bill payment transactions has jumped from roughly 4 percent to about 15 percent within that period of time.

For its research on the biller side, Fiserv commissioned the Biller Mobile Bill Pay Benchmark Study and found that most billers (94 percent) are using the mobile channel to enhance and extend customer service.

Three quarters (76 percent) of billers are looking to increase customer use of self-service with the mobile channel while 74 percent are looking to meet customer demand for a mobile option.

On the consumer side, the Fiserv Billing Household Survey looked at the demand for mobile billing options. The survey found that paying and viewing bills are the top functions consumers would like billers to provide via a mobile browser or app.

Half of respondents (50 percent) cited time savings as the reason for wanting mobile bill payment, Fiserv said. Anytime access appealed to 44 percent of respondents.

"Mobile devices are in almost everyone's hands today, and consumers have embraced a digital mobile lifestyle that extends to daily tasks including receiving and paying bills," said Michelle Flint, general manager of electronic billing for biller solutions at Fiserv. "Fiserv is aggressively investing in new mobile research and product development to equip billing organizations to harness the opportunities of the mobile channel while also effectively managing its complexities."

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