39% of Consumers Pay Monthly Bills on Time With Automatic Payments

With most consumers now paying their recurring monthly bills via digital channels, many are embracing convenience features such as automatic payment on the due date, according to “Streamlining Bill Payment,” which is based on a PYMNTS survey of 2,913 U.S. consumers.

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The most common types of bills that consumers pay each month are mobile phone (72%), home internet (67%), insurance premiums (50%) and cable TV (47%).

chart, recurring consumer bills

They often use digital channels to pay these bills.

Among consumers earning more than $100,000 a year, about two-thirds use digital channels to pay mobile phone and home internet bills, and about one-half use them to pay insurance premiums and cable TV bills.

Of those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 annually, digital channels are used by 77% to pay mobile phone bills, 70% to pay home internet bills, 53% to pay insurance premiums and 51% to pay cable TV bills.

Among consumers making less than $50,000 a year, 74% use digital channels to pay mobile phone bills, 63% use them to pay home internet bills, 44% use them to pay insurance premiums and 40% use them to pay cable TV bills.

recurring bills digital channels

The greatest share of consumers of all income levels — 39% — pay their recurring monthly bills using automatic payment on the due date, whether via a bank’s bill payment system or the biller’s website.

Twenty-two percent choose that option via the bank’s bill payment system, and another 17% of consumers do so at the biller’s website.

Other popular payment methods include manually paying at the biller’s website and manual payment with a bank bill payment system. These methods are used by 17% and 14% of consumers respectively.

Smaller shares of consumers use the biller’s mobile app (11%) or pay by phone using an interactive voice system (5%).

how consumers pay recurring bills