The U.S. Postal Service sent a substantial amount of paper bills and statements in 2021—to the tune of more than 13 billion. About 50% were for credit cards, insurance, mortgage/real estate, banks, other financial services and healthcare. However, not all bills were paid via paper. In fact, payments by mail fell from 44% in 2011 to 19% in 2021. On the other end of the spectrum, online payments went from 51% to 79%, with 79% of payments made electronically in the last year alone.
If you prioritize paper as your primary bill presentment and payment method, you’re about to incur additional costs because the price of paper has increased 45% over the last year due to a number of factors. When you add in current supply chain issues, the macroeconomic climate and increased consumer appetite to pay bills online, pursuing paper bill presentment and payment can not only cost your business, but also your customers, more money.
In our recently released whitepaper, The Great Paper Chase: How Digital Adoption in Payments Can Protect Your Business in a Critical Time, we highlight the four factors contributing to the paper shortage and three ways you can combat it.
For instance, did you know that paper was in trouble even before the pandemic began? Paper is actually one of the most heavily regulated industries in the US, and the costs associated with running a paper mill operation are high. In addition, decreased demand due to declining paper grades, increased raw material costs and heightened consumer appetite for digital communications have also played their parts.
The good news is that the dynamics of the paper industry don’t have to cripple your business. By accelerating bill digitization and digital payment methods, you can remove approximately 20 to 30 dependencies, such as raw materials, supply chain disruptions, labor and fuel costs. You can also streamline your bill delivery process, cut costs, improve efficiency and reduce the number of vendors you use by funneling all collections, reconciliations and reporting through one system. And that’s just one way to overcome the paper predicament.
Download The Great Paper Chase: How Digital Adoption in Payments Can Protect Your Business in a Critical Time to future-proof your business against the paper shortage and other constantly evolving market dynamics.