Billeo Helps Financial Institutions Offer Customers More Flexibility and Choice in Online Bill Pay with PayDirect Assistant

SAN FRANCISCO, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- FinovateSpring 2010 -- Billeo (www.billeo.com) – a suite of Online Assistants that save people time and money in all types of online transactions, from shopping to bill pay – today announced PayDirect Assistant, a new patent-pending online service that adds first-of-its-kind features and functionality to banks' online bill pay services. Now 31 million bank bill pay customers can make immediate payments – even on the bill's due date – using their debit card or credit card.

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"We developed PayDirect Assistant to address two common points of frustration for consumers who use their bank's online bill pay services. They can't pay bills instantly, and they can't pay with a card. In fact, of the 31 million bank pay customers, more than half still go to a biller's website to make a same-day payment or earn rewards by paying with a card," said Murali Subbarao, founder and CEO of Billeo. "PayDirect Assistant provides an easy way for our banking partners to enhance their online bill pay services with little effort on their part, attract new bill pay customers and improve their existing customers' bill pay experiences with added choice and speed."

There are more than 8,000 billers that accept credit and debit cards as forms of payments – and now banks can give the 47 million households who currently pay directly to biller websites a one-stop, organized place to pay all their bills: from their bank's website. Billeo's PayDirect Assistant improves customer experience with their banks, and creates new revenue streams for the financial institutions.  

For banks: To get started, there are two easy choices:

1. If already offering an in-house bill pay solution, they simply can integrate with Billeo and the PayDirect Assistant will go live for customers.
2. If using a third-party bill pay consolidator, they can ask their service provider to integrate with Billeo to extend the value of the agreement and better serve customers.

For bank customers: Upon sign-in at their bank's website, customers activate Billeo's PayDirect Assistant with a simple click. It only takes three steps for a consumer to pay a bill using Billeo's PayDirect Assistant:

1. The customer selects a biller through their bank's billing directory, and Billeo's PayDirect Assistant brings them directly to the biller's website to log in, securely saving credentials to enable easy log-in for future payments.
2. Billeo's PayDirect Assistant automatically fills the card details on the biller's payment page.
3. After the customer pays a bill, Billeo's PayDirect Assistant saves a receipt on the bank's website, creating a centralized record of payment history.

Billeo's PayDirect Assistant is the ultimate online bill pay assistant, autofilling information throughout the process – from passwords to credit card numbers – and keeping all bill payments organized on the bank's website.

"The card-based online bill pay space is projected to be $1.4 trillion in volume, making the service very attractive to banks," continued Subbarao. "We are working with our various bank partners to enhance their bill pay offerings with features that their customers want, thereby improving customer satisfaction and retention. PayDirect Assistant is a win-win-win for banks, billers and their customers alike."

Billeo's PayDirect Assistant is the company's latest service geared toward helping people reap the rewards of transacting online. Billeo works with several large financial institutions to help improve their customers' online shopping and bill pay experiences, including Visa, American Express, Discover, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and NetSpend. Interest on Billeo's PayDirect Assistant from the financial community is strong, with many players working with Billeo to implement the service.

About Billeo, Inc.

Billeo provides a suite of Online Assistants that save people time and money in all types of online transactions, from shopping to bill pay. Its latest tool, the Offer Assistant, delivers high-quality discounts and deals from the loyalty programs of major card programs such as American Express, Visa and others – with no work required. Billeo was founded by seasoned executives well-versed in the online shopping and bill payment spaces. Over 40 banks, six of the top 10 card issuers, and more than 1,500 merchants are part of the trusted Billeo network. For more information about Billeo visit www.billeo.com.

SOURCE Billeo, Inc.