InformationWeek

February 8, 1999

Net Billing On The Rise

Mobius supports paper, HTML bills

By Gregory Dalton

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Computer Reseller News Netscape Unveils Net Bill-Paying Software

obius Management Systems Inc., a document warehousing company, is the latest vendor to enter the growing market for Internet billing technology. Northeast Utilities Service Co., which owns three power companies in New England, plans by June to give 1.3 million customers the ability to receive and pay bills online. Later this year, another 400,000 customers will get access to Northeast's system, which is based on Mobius' DocumentDirect software.

"I hope to eventually see a minimum of 15% to 20% of our customers move from paying by check to paying electronically," says Ron Naiman, manager of customer center operations at Northeast Utilities, in Hartford, Conn.

Moving legacy data to the Web is one of the toughest chores in implementing an online billing system. Mobius hopes to convince users that its solution is the best way to present data on paper bills as well as in HTML format on the Internet. "We have the ability to handle both the paper and the electronic and make the transition easy," says Abby Pinnard, VP of marketing at Mobius.

About a dozen retailers, utilities, and financial institutions now present bills online, and many more are testing the technology. By year's end, the average household will be able to view and pay about a quarter of its obligations online--and the number of households paying bills online will surge to more than 3 million, according to Jupiter Communications. The market research firm predicts utilities will lead the way among billers this year, and will be followed next year by consumer lenders, insurance companies, banks, and brokerages.