The popularity of online payments for utility bills (electricity, gas, water) is increasing in Hungary since the launch of a new eInvoicing service last year by the Díjbeszed? Holding (Utility Fee Collection Holding), despite a persisting reticence to change.
There are now over 50 000 residents in Budapest who choose to pay their utility bills over the Internet. In the summer of 2008, the Dijbeszedõ Holding carried out a survey on attitudes to eInvoicing in 1 000 Budapest households. According to the survey, confidence in electronic payment methods has increased. Some 75 % of the population regard purchasing over the internet as secure; 50 % of the respondents use the internet regularly and one-third even use eBanking services.
On the negative side, 20 % reject eInvoicing for security reasons, and 14 % claim to have a strong aversion to eInvoicing. The survey also revealed that 84 % of the population still use the so-called yellow (post office) cheques to pay their monthly bills; 20 % occasionally use bank transfer services to pay their bills; and only 16 % of Budapest’s population relies on standing orders.
Although eInvoicing is gaining in popularity, Hungarian citizens still use some 280 million ‘yellow cheques’ a year to pay their bills at post offices, highlighting a reluctance to change on the part of the population. According to the survey, it is very important to customers (70 on a scale of 1 to 100) to avoid having to change their usual payment methods.
Source: ePractice.eu
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