Aite Group has determined that over two-thirds of small businesses are interested in implementing online bill payment and invoice presentment. Because many of the desired attributes of these services favor financial institutions' websites and capabilities, financial institutions have an opportunity to displace biller-direct sites as the preferred solution for small-business electronic bill presentment and payment.

Boston, MA, November 30, 2006 – In a new report, Small-Business Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment: An Opportunity for Financial Institutions, Aite Group analyzes the results of an omnibus small-business survey that was conducted in April 2006. Small- business needs are examined as a group and are sub-segmented into the following annual revenue categories: < US$100 thousand, US$100 thousand to < US$1 million, and US$1 million to <US$10 million. This report examines small businesses' experiences and satisfaction with online bill presentment and payment, and it also looks at their unmet needs. In the next 12-month period, small businesses are expected to show considerable interest in both online bill payment and electronic invoicing, as demonstrated below.

"The more integrated a financial institution can become with a small business, the greater the understanding of the business' needs," notes Nancy Atkinson, a senior analyst with Aite Group and author of the report. "Financial institutions must develop value-added solutions that go beyond biller-direct sites to create a service model in support of small- businesses' financial activities. These solutions need to clearly lead to time savings for small businesses."

This 29-page Impact Report contains 21 figures. Clients of Aite Group's Wholesale Banking Service can download the report by clicking the icon to the right.

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