Research of bill payment behaviours of Australians by messaging solutions provider Start Corporation found that 26 percent of Australians want SMS reminders to prompt them to pay bills on time.
In addition, 3.2 million Australians would prefer organisations to communicate with them via SMS rather than by telephone, e-mail or snail mail for all communications.
"Our research indicates that 42 percent of Australians are paying late fees due to forgetfulness and disorganisation, costing consumers alone AU$400 million a year," Start CEO and cofounder Michael Mak said in a statement.
Whilst today's time-poor society is suffering from an -attention deficit", according to Mak, the consumer isn't the only one losing money. -There is a high cost associated for businesses with sending reminder notices in the mail, courtesy calls and debt recovery in general," he said.
According to Mak, businesses can save up to 90 percent of customer communication costs by using SMS reminders, -reducing the cost of customers calls, mail outs and other methods of debt recovery".
This theory is supported by Paul McGlone, managing director of Sydney-based Cosmos, which processes electronic payments.
Cosmos, in conjunction with Melbourne-based SMS technology development specialist Mobile Corporation, recently launched Pay Today, which enables businesses to use SMS messaging to contact customers who can then pay late bills on the spot by return SMS.
According to McGlone, who sees utilities providers being a major market for such technology, the service costs businesses AU$1-$1.50 per SMS and associated payment compared with paper reminders, plus processing, which cost anywhere between AU$10 and $20.
A recent survey has also put Australians in the spotlight, revealing that they're more prepared than their counterparts overseas to use m-commerce.
Commenting on the survey, carried out by Ericsson's ConsumerLab, Tim Batten, general manager of m-commerce for Mobile Corporation said: -For a mass-market application--anyone on any carrier with any handset--SMS is the carriage of choice."
With 11 million mobile phones in Australia, Start's Mak said it's not surprising that SMS is growing as the preferred method of receiving bill reminders and general communications from organisations.
"At the end of the day, SMS is easier and more convenient for customers and could save organisations millions of dollars currently spent chasing late bill payments."
