Trends in Customer Payment Preferences
by Mike Procopio, Blue Cow Software, A PDI Company
Giving customers what they want pays back
Your customers have expectations about your propane company. On-time delivery. Fair pricing. A call back when service is required. But they also expect all of this to be easy and convenient – for them. That includes making it simple to pay their bills, which means accepting credit and debit cards and having an online payment option available.
According to a 2022 Motley Fool Ascent survey, the breakdown in consumer payment preferences is:
- Credit card: 45.25%
- Debit card: 42.45%
- Cash: 12.30%
Additionally, an ACI Worldwide study found that 67% of consumers prefer using websites or mobile apps to make bill payments, an increase from nearly 63% in 2019. The percentage of consumers paying their bills through automated recurring payments has increased from 55.4% in 2019 to 62% in 2020. For those consumers who prefer digital payment options, their most-cited reasons include convenience (50%), speed ( 48%), and simplicity (43%).