The NetCourier electronic bill presentment and payment system uses encrypted E-mail to deliver billing information to consumers. With NetCourier, MicroVault intends to let billers such as telephone, credit-card, mortgage, and other companies prepare and deliver bills via an E-mail attachment. This attachment, once opened with a password or personal ID number, can be viewed by consumers who can then click on a button to authorize the payment of the bill through pre-established means.

Because this approach is closer to conventional billing, consumers are more likely to accept it, analysts say. "I predicted two years ago that bill presentment and payment was going to be a secure attachment on E-mail," says Geri Spieler, a senior research analyst at Gartner Group. "That's where bill presentment and payment is going to land."

The NetCourier system uses 128-bit encryption to secure documents before delivery and requires only that recipients have an E-mail program, the company says. "The billing information is fed into the NetCourier system. We take the information and we encrypt that; then we take that encrypted file and attach it to an E-mail and send that out the door," says Nick Rini, CEO of MicroVault. "Basically, it uses an SMTP server to send this information out over the Internet. What the recipients need is an E-mail program that enables them to receive E-mail attachments."

The NetCourier system is available now. Pricing is based on system requirements and transaction volume.